The Charmed Ones' Final Fantasy
by suta-gosvami
Summary: When a demonic creature attacks San Francisco, a mysterious man in a red cloak turns up and tells the Charmed Ones they must defeat it at all costs...
1. Sin's Attack

**The Charmed Ones' Final Fantasy**

**Chapter 1**

It was a typical morning in the Halliwell household.

"Paige, will you have some breakfast before you leave?" asked Piper.

"I am really in a hurry, but I should have time for a quick bite", replied Paige.

     Soon all four members of the household were seated around the kitchen table, discussing various matters with each other. They found it strange that there had been no demonic attacks for a few weeks, and were wondering if there was a new Source and if he was biding his time. Cole had not been seen anywhere for a few months, and Phoebe believed that he finally accepted that she didn't love him. 

Suddenly, a huge vibration shook the house, but Phoebe reasoned that it must have been a huge vehicle driving past. Leo left the room and went to look outside. Paige and Phoebe sat back down, but Piper began clearing away the breakfast dishes.

At that moment, Leo re-entered the room.

     "Ah, guys, I thing that there's something you should see".

     They all turned and followed Leo out of the manor.

     High above the city of San Francisco, a huge orb of water floated in mid-air. Phoebe could just make out a huge creature within it, its tail extending towards the city. As they watched, several scales broke away from the tail and dropped into San Francisco.

     "What the hell it that?" asked Piper in disbelief.

     "We called it 'Sin'" came a voice from behind them.

     The speaker was a middle-aged man with a large sword over his back. He was dressed in a red robe, wore a pair of dark sunglasses and the neck of his robe came up to his nose. Attached to his belt he carried a large flask of some liquid.

     "Who are you?" asked Paige.

     "My name is Auron", said the man, "but that is not important now. What is important is that you realise the power of that thing in the sky and know that it would be folly to take it on"

     "Come inside and tell us there" said Phoebe.

     The four of them and Auron entered the house and sat down in the living room.

     "All right", said Piper, "tell us what that thing was".

     "Like I said, we called it 'Sin'. It is the source of all evil in the world, and it delights in destruction".

     "But we already vanquished the Source of All Evil and stole the Grimoire, the evil book that gives the Source its powers", said Paige.

     "No, in fact all you did was banish him from this world for a short amount of time. He still exists. You saw him today", he replied.

     "I was originally from the world of Spira", continued Auron, "and for thousands of years there the people were terrified of Sin. He destroyed the ancient machina city of Zanarkand over a thousand years ago, and continued to wreak havoc for eons. Many people tried to defeat Sin, but it always came back, although no one knows how. The people who try and defeat Sin are called _summoners, as they can summon divine creatures called Aeons to help them in their quest. Although the Aeons are powerful, they cannot solve every situation, so every summoner has a number of guardians, who would give their life to defend the summoner._

"The Aeons are made from the _fayth_, people who sacrificed themselves to fight Sin. However, to beat Sin, the Final Summoning is required. But Sin always comes back. It was only about twelve years ago when High Summoner Yuna defeated Sin without the Final Summoning and it was banished from Spira. 

"Then it came to this world, and wreaked havoc on relatively remote areas. Today was the first time that I saw Sin attack a major city. Usually it went to remote areas where there were only a few thousand people and he killed them all so that no one would know what had happened.

"Some people here of Earth have become summoners, but not one has managed to defeat Sin. I am actually dead, but Yevon resurrected me and brought me here to help fight Sin. I was raised in a loving family with the name Turner in a small town on the West Coast, where I was liked and respected (although not by my older brother), but about two years ago, my town was attacked and my foster parents killed. My sister Belgemine then became a summoner, and she chose me and my older brother Cole to be her guardians.

"Cole Turner?" exclaimed Phoebe. "I was married to him, but he was killed, as he was the Source."

"I see", said Auron. "However, when our pilgrimage was at an end and we reached the ruins of Zanarkand, Lady Yunalesca, the first summoner to defeat Sin, gave Belgemine the Final Aeon. It has great power, which comes from Yevon himself". 

"Yevon?" said Piper. "Who's Yevon?"

"The God of Spira', said Auron.

"He's also the leader of the Elders", said Leo, "but I've never met him. He's an enigma, and no-one really knows anything about him".

"Yevon creates the Aeons and helps in the struggle against his evil counterpart Yu Yevon, who created Sin. Anyway, Belgemine summoned the Final Aeon to fight Sin. The two of them fought, and Sin was beaten. However, Cole died in the battle, but he wasn't sent".

"Is he still alive?" asked Phoebe. "I haven't seen him for months. I thought he might have had to leave as he was already dead"

"He is still alive", said Auron. "You must have felt his presence today then you saw Sin".

"What the hell are you on about?" said Paige. "Surely you don't mean…"

"It cannot be", exclaimed Phoebe.

"It is" replied Auron. "Sin is Cole".      


	2. Summoner

**Chapter 2**

       "But how?" replied Phoebe? "How could he possibly have become Sin?"

       "This is not possible", said Leo. "I will check with the Elders about Sin and what to do about it". He orbed out.

       "Sin always comes back after it is defeated", replied Auron, "though it is not the same Sin each time. This time, Yu Yevon has chosen Cole to be Sin and he will continue to destroy until nothing is left".

"He must be stopped!" exclaimed Paige. "I will become one of those summoners that you talked about. I will learn how to summon Aeons and then I will defeat Sin".

"Look, Paige", said Auron, "I know you want to vanquish Cole, but the summoner dies when they defeat Sin. Do you really want to die just so that you can beat Sin for a short while, and then have it come back? Maybe as one of your sisters, perhaps?"

"I see your point now, Auron", said Paige.

At that moment Leo orbed back into the living room.

"The Elders confirmed everything that Auron said was true", said Leo. "But the elders charged one of us with the task of becoming a summoner and defeating Sin".

"But Auron just said that the summoner dies when they defeat Sin and that Sin always comes back after being defeated", said Piper.

"The Elders think that there is a chance that it won't come back this time", said Leo, "So one of us must accept".

The three of them thought about it. Phoebe said "If it is one of us, then when we die we will destroy the Power of Three and there is no-one else related closely enough to us to take the power themselves".

"But if all evil is destroyed, do we still need the Power of Three?" asked Piper

Leo replied, "I'm not sure. I know I can't do it as I am a Whitelighter and cannot die"

"I will do it", said Paige.

"And I will be your guardian", said Piper.

"Me, too", said Leo.

"I guess I will", said Phoebe.

"And I would also like to become your guardian and aid you in your quest to defeat Sin.  Do you accept?" said Auron.

"Yes, I do.  I would like you to guide me through the quest".

"Well, we must leave now.  Soon there may not be any San Francisco.  But I know of a temple on the very outskirts of the town where you can become a summoner".

"And just how do I become a summoner, Auron?" replied Paige.

"In the temple there is a room called the Cloister of Trials.  You must pass the trials set there in order to enter the Chamber of the Fayth, where you will pray to the Fayth, asking it to aid you on your quest. If you are successful then the Fayth will join with you and you will be able to call it to fight as an Aeon".

"The Elders gave me the location of the temple", said Leo. "I will orb us there".

So Leo orbed them all to an old, run-down building that looked a little like a church. But when they went in, it was larger that is seemed to be from the outside. There were benches around the perimeter where people were praying. There were several statues around the room. Auron explained to them what each one was.

"The statue on the left of the staircase is High Summoner Braska, and the one on the right his daughter, High Summoner Yuna, the one who banished Sin from Spira. The other two near the exit are High Summoner Gandof and High Summoner Yocun. I guarded Braska and Yuna. Now, we go up these stairs to the Cloister of Trials and the summoner's guardians complete it, allowing the summoner into the Chamber of the Fayth. I will show you how this one is done. Watch me.

So they went up the stairs and found themselves in a small room with no way out except the door they had just walked through. Auron, however, examined the glyph on the front wall and he then touched a similar one on the right wall. The wall lifted up and they went down the stairs. On the wall at the bottom of the stairs was another glyph, but this time with a sphere below it. Auron picked up the sphere and said, "This is a _glyph sphere", explained Auron. It can open up doors and passages that are necessary to reach the Chamber of the Fayth. He went down some more stairs and placed the glyph sphere in the door, which swung open. They walked down the corridor and saw a pedestal standing opposite a wall of strange symbols. Auron touched the symbols and that part of the wall dissolved. He went in and took the purple sphere that was in there. He placed it in the pedestal, and the wall around it dissolved._

"That is called a _Besaid _sphere, as this temple is a replica of the one at Besaid village in Spira", said Auron.

He walked through the passage and pushed the pedestal farther into the room. It sank into the floor and became an elevator. They all stood on it and it took them down. Auron pushed open the door to a small but highly decorated room".

"Paige, that is the door to the Chamber of the Fayth at the end. You must go in there".

As she approached the door, it opened by itself, and she went inside.

"Auron, what exactly are the fayth?" asked Phoebe.

"They are those who gave their lives to help defeat Sin. Yevon took their souls willingly given from their still-living bodies and trapped them forever in statues. But when a summoner calls them, they come down as powerful entities which we call Aeons".

At that moment, Paige came out of the Chamber of the Fayth.

"I have become a summoner".

"Congratulations", said Phoebe.

"Let's go", said Auron.

They started off northeast, and stopped only for meals. The country was placid and beautiful, unlike the city a few miles away. "Do you think that San Francisco will still be there?" asked Paige.

"I doubt it", said Auron. "Sin pretty much destroys everything in its path".

When they set up camp for the night, Leo said, "I would like to see one of these Aeons. Could you show me, Paige?"

She spread her arms and a large circle of light appeared at her feet. It split into 4 smaller circles which each sent up a pulse into the air. They combined and an oval-shaped creature appeared. It spread its wings and stretched its legs down, then flew down. Paige patted its nose, and it took off again. It hovered in the air, and then vanished.

"It's only the first", said Auron. "You must get all the Aeons, and then we go to Zanarkand to obtain the Final Aeon.

"Where is Zanarkand?" asked Piper.

"Zanarkand was an ancient machina city in Spira. However, Sin destroyed it a thousand years ago. It is now only ruins, and the Fayth live there. In the north of this country is a mountain called Mt Gagazet. When we climb that, we will be in Spira, outside the Zanarkand ruins. Yevon says Zanarkand is a holy place, so only summoners and their guardians can enter.

"Where do we go now?" asked Paige.

We go to the next temple, in the town of Kilika to obtain the second Aeon. However, it will be a dangerous trip, so we must get you some weapons. I know that you have magic, but some fiends are resistant to magic", said Auron "I know a weapons dealer who lives in a nearby town. That is where we must go".

In about half an hour, they arrived in the village. Auron led them to the first building on the right and opened the door.

"Medral, how are you?" said Auron.

"Auron! Oh, I'm fine".

"Medral, this is Summoner Paige and her guardians, including me. They need some weapons. Although they are well-versed in the magical arts, they have know knowledge of weapons".

"I used to do fencing", said Paige.

"Well, why don't you try a sabre?" said Medral, handing her one.

She swung it round a few times and said "I'll take it".

"But your left hand is left doing nothing", said Medral. "Why don't you try this dagger?"

She took it and tried a few moves. "Yep, that'll be good, thanks".

He then turned to Piper. "What would you like? Swords, axes, bows, spears, I've got the lot."

"I'd like a one-handed sword and a shield, please".

He handed her a sword, and then gave her a shield that was about 1½ feet tall and 1 foot wide. She tried them out and said, "That's fine. Thank you."

"I'd like a big sword like yours, Auron", said Phoebe.

"Well, my sword is called the Masamune and it has magical powers which also help lighten the weight of it. I doubt that Medral would have any swords like that, and a normal sword this size would be extremely heavy".

"Oh, well. I'd like to try a couple of those scimitars, Medral".

He handed her the scimitars and she said, "That's what suits me".

"How much do I owe you, Medral?" asked Auron.

"You saved my life in Spira when Sin attacked Kilika. You can have the weapons for free".

"Thank you", said Auron, as he led them out.


	3. Al Bhed

**Chapter 3**

They stayed the night at the village inn and left early the next morning.

"Now be on your guard", said Auron. "I heard there are Al Bhed in the area, so watch out. They will most likely be hostile towards us".

"What are Al Bhed?" said Phoebe.

"They are a race of people originally from Spira who do not follow Yevon. They use weapons and other machina forbidden by Yevon, and their weapons are extremely powerful".

They set off north, proceeding to the next temple. Auron had said that Paige must pray at every temple in Spira to obtain the Final Aeon that was needed to defeat Sin.

That night they camped in a clearing and cooked some of the food that they had bought in the village. They then took out their sleeping bags and went to sleep.

About 1:00 in the morning, Paige woke up and heard something poking around. She drew her sabre and got up very quietly, and saw that it was a wolf. She snuck up behind it, but just as she was about to strike, a twig snapped and the wolf turned. She brought her blade down to its neck, but the wolf dodged it and charged her. She orbed out and came down behind the wolf. She sliced it across the back and it roared. At that moment, Piper woke up and blew up the wolf.

"Next time, Paige, don't try to attack on your own".

"Okay, okay, but …"

"But we've had more experience than you have".

"Yes but I'm the summoner. If it had gotten out of hand, I could have just summoned my Aeon, Valefor".

They went back to bed and slept until morning. Piper got up and cooked breakfast. While they were eating, however, a young woman walked out of the trees and approached them. She had slightly olive coloured skin, shoulder-length black hair and she was wearing a red dress. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen.

"Are you the Charmed Ones?" she asked.

"Yes", replied Paige. "Who are you?"

"I am Parvati, a black Mage. I have been sent to help Summoner Paige".

"That's me", said Paige. "These are my two sisters Piper and Phoebe, and Piper's husband Leo, who is also our Whitelighter. We also have Auron with us, as he knows what je is doing. We don't".

"Sir Auron? The Legendary Guardian? I thought you were dead!"

"I was revived by Yevon"

"I've seen you in spheres. You were one of Lady Yuna's guardians, along with my parents Lulu and Wakka. It was my mother who trained me as a black Mage.

"So that means you're evil", said Paige.

"No", said Parvati. "Black Mages cast spells that do a lot of damage to the enemy, rather than casting spells to heal. I am a Light Mage, which means I am good. Dark Mages use their magic for their own personal gain, and become evil. But Paige, since Lulu, guardian of Yuna sent me to help you, I would like to become your guardian. Do you accept?"

"Yes"

"Well, let's go!"

They set off again, but they had gone no more than 5 miles when they were ambushed by a wolf, a floating ball of fire and a bird. Phoebe sliced the bird with her scimitars, Paige ran the wolf through before it could react, and Piper threw a fireball at the bomb. It had no effect.

"Leave this one to me", said Parvati.

She fired several ice crystals at the fireball and it disintegrated. 

"Now listen here. There are six elements that oppose each other – fire and ice, thunder and water, wind and earth. There are also attacks which have no element, and Holy attacks, which have the power of Yevon in them. If you use a creature's own element on it, you will do no damage to it or even heal it. It is not always obvious to tell what element a creature is, so watch the way it attacks".

"Just like your mother, Parvati", said Auron. "Blunt and straight to the point".

They took to the road again, but about two hours later several men wearing goggles and strange clothes came up to them. They were all carrying guns. One of them stepped up to the party and said "**Fru yna oui?"**

"What the –', said Paige. The man raised his gun at her. "**Tu oui hud cbayg uin myhkiyka?"**

"Allow me", said Parvati. "These guys are Al Bhed, and I understand their language. He asked who we were and if we spoke Al Bhed.

"**Drec ec **Summoner Paige, **yht fa yna ran **guardians."

"I told him who we were", she whispered to Paige.

"**Drah, oui lyh bycc. Kuut milg!**" The Al Bhed left.

"He wished us good luck", said Parvati.

They carried on until nightfall, and they found a campsite that was perfect, until a noise from a nearby cave disturbed the serenity. A large green-yellow bird reared its head and took flight. 

"Stand back, everyone", said Paige as she stretched her arms back. The circles appeared around her feet and Valefor descended. Valefor fired a blast from her wings and knocked the bird back. She then flew over and slashed the bird with her claws. She fired out a red beam of light from her beak along the bird. A line of fire seared across the path of the beam, destroying the bird. Valefor then spread her wings, soared upwards and was gone.

"You're good, Paige", said Parvati. "You destroyed a Garuda, and a powerful one at that".

"I didn't use the Aeon's most powerful attack, though", said Paige.

They set up camp and Piper cooked dinner. While they were eating, Parvati asked about what the Charmed Ones did, so they enlightened her.

'I understand you're pregnant with a very special child, Piper, but why haven't you been showing the usual pregnancy symptoms?"

"Now that I think about it, I don't know. Why haven't I?"

"I'll tell you why", said Auron. "Yevon needs you to help Paige to defeat Sin, so he has put your pregnancy on hold until after Sin is defeated".

"Yeah, well praise be to Yevon", said Piper.

"You know, that used to be my father's favourite saying", said Parvati, "but since the Yevon religion has disappeared from Spira, he has gone the other way. He has a big house in Besaid now, with lots of machina to run it".

"Attention, everyone", said Auron. "Tomorrow we reach the town of Kilika where Paige will obtain the second Aeon".

The next morning they entered the town of Kilika. After buying some more food, they proceeded to the temple. The layout of the temple was similar to that of the one in San Francisco, but with burning torches around the perimeter. Auron led them up the stairs and into the Cloister of Trials. They stood on a platform, which lowered them down to another door. Paige opened the door and went in. There was a pedestal with a flame burning in the middle and a glowing orange sphere on the side. Piper removed the sphere and stuck it in the door. The door became a burning web so she removed the sphere and placed it back in the pedestal. They went through to the second room, where a glyph sphere was sitting on the left wall. Phoebe picked it up and put it in the wall directly in front of the door. A glyph appeared on the wall.

"Don't touch it Phoebe!" called Leo but he was too late. Phoebe touched the glyph and the door lifted up.

"There is nothing in any Cloisters of Trials that is dangerous", said Auron. "If in doubt, just touch it, and it might just be the right thing!"

They were in a large room with a trench in the middle, and a set of stairs leading down. However, the trench was filled with fire. On the right wall there was another orange sphere. Parvati walked over and picked it up, and then she stepped on a shining glyph beside the recess. The pedestal from the second room appeared, and she placed the orange sphere into the recess. She then pushed the pedestal onto the shining glyph, and the whole glyph sank into the floor. 

"Piper, grab that green glyph sphere from the second room could you please?"

Piper returned with the sphere, and Parvati placed it in the recess where the orange Kilika sphere was before. That section of the wall lifted, putting out the fire and revealing another Kilika sphere. Parvati took it and walked down the stairs. "Follow me", she said.

She led them along the trench and up onto the other side where there was a large door. She placed the Kilika sphere in the door and it started to burn the door. She removed it and handed it to Auron.

"Auron, could you go and put this sphere back where I got it please?"

Auron said nothing but walked back to where Parvati had found the sphere. The rest of them went through the door and stopped. Paige approached the Chamber of the Fayth, and the door opened. She went inside, and after a few minutes, she emerged.

"I now have Ifrit, the fire Aeon. Let's go!"

They left the temple, but just outside four people walked up to them. One had light-coloured spiky hair, another, white-haired man wore a black robe and glasses, another was a furred, blue creature vaguely resembling a lion and the fourth was a short, chubby man in whitish-brown robes.

"These are the Maesters of Yevon", whispered Auron to Paige. "They lead the Church of Yevon and also guide summoners. They used to rule Spira".

The white-haired man approached Paige. "Are you Summoner Paige?" he asked.

"Yes"

"I am Grand Maester Maechen. The short man is Maester Kinoc, leader of the Warrior Monks, the blue Ronso is Maester Kelk Ronso, and the Guado woman is Maester Yuma Guado. 

"Paige, do you understand the commitment that a summoner must make?"

"Yes, I do".

"And you will not falter when the time comes?"

"No"

"Well, that concludes our meeting. Until next we…"

Above them, a series of thunderclaps could be heard, although the sky was perfectly clear and the sun was shining. 

"What is that sound?" asked Piper.

"I do not know", said Maechen. "It could have something to do with the Farplane".

"The what?" asked Phoebe.

"The Farplane is where souls go after death", explained Maester Yuma. We Guado guard the Farplane to make sure that the two worlds stay separate. The dead are often reluctant to go so either a summoner or a Maester must send them. But occasionally somebody breaks free".

"So some dead guy's trying to come back", said Paige. "What's the big deal?"

 "You do not understand. When a soul leaves the Farplane, they have very powerful magic and abilities we don't know much about. We don't want that to happen".

"Seymour!" exclaimed Kelk. "Seymour wants return to world. Seymour want be Sin".

"Who's this Seymour?" asked Phoebe.

"My cousin", said Yuma.

"Seymour was the previous Guado Maester", explained Maechen. "He grew power-hungry and ambitious and used his power for his own self-gain. He became totally evil and tried to become the next Sin. High Summoner Yuna killed him and sent him, and we thought we'd seen the last of him".

"So he's back?" asked Leo.

"I am not sure. Some people claim to have seen him, and he may well have the power, but I think Yevon would stop him from coming back".

"Well maybe Yu Yevon let him go", said Auron.

"I doubt it", said Kinoc. "However, the danger of him returning is very real. Summoner Paige, would you like an armed escort to the next temple, the one at Djose?"

"Yes, thank you".

So Kinoc disappeared, and when he returned there were several men in helmets and upper body armour behind him. They were all carrying guns.

"These are Warrior Monks, and they will escort you to Djose, along with myself".

They travelled for 2 days under the protection of Kinoc and the warrior monks. On the morning of the third day they came to a large rock on the middle of nowhere. As they watched, the two halves of the rock opened, revealing a majestic temple.

"The Lightning Mushroom Rock", said Auron. "It only opens when a summoner comes to pray to the Fayth".

They went inside and saw a majestic ring of lightning surrounding the roof of the temple. However, Auron led them up the stairs and into the Cloister of Trials.

They were standing in front of a round door with two sphere-shaped recesses. Parvati grabbed the two green spheres from the walls and placed them in the door, which slid right back into the wall. The next room had a huge symbol of Yevon on the ground, with a pedestal in the middle, holding another green sphere. The top oval and the middle part of the symbol were lit up. There was a door at the other side of the Yevon symbol, with a glyph glowing on it. Phoebe went and touched the glyph but nothing happened. She then took the sphere on the left side of the room and the one on the right side As she took the left sphere, the oval part of the Yevon symbol went dark. She stuck the spheres in two recesses on the far right of the room, where another glyph glowed. Nothing happened, but then Piper pushed the pedestal along, and when it was right beside the glyph, a bolt of lightning came down and struck the sphere. Piper then put the sphere in the right slot by the symbol of Yevon and the door opened. Inside was a pit filled with bolts of lightning.

"We have to get across", said Phoebe

"It's too far to jump", said Piper.

Parvati took the two white Djose spheres from the recesses near the glyph and put them in the pedestal. She then pushed the pedestal into the pit. It fell, and then the lightning connected to the two Djose spheres, and lifted it to the centre of the pit. She jumped onto the pedestal and then to the other side, where there was another pedestal with a Djose sphere in the middle. She pushed it into the wall, and it lit up the circle inside the now-dark oval of the Yevon symbol. She jumped back across, stood on the shining glyph on the left to the symbol of Yevon, and the pedestal appeared in the middle. She took the sphere which opened the door and placed it on the left, lighting the oval again.

"Piper, Phoebe, could you grab the two spheres from the pedestal and stick them back in the two recesses in the first room please?"

"Yes", they responded.

They took the spheres and placed them back in the two recesses. The pedestal then turned into a round platform. 

"Stand on this, everyone. It's an elevator", said Parvati.

They all stood on the elevator and it rose up, stopping in a room where there were five pedestals arranged in a semi-circle. 

"Push all the pedestals into the walls" said Parvati. They did that and an electrical pulse came down from the ceiling, opening a staircase.

They went up the stairs, and came out into a small, circular room. Paige approached the door to the Chamber of the Fayth, which opened. After several minutes, she came out.

"There were two Fayths in there, so now I have 4 Aeons altogether'.   


	4. Seymour Guado

**Chapter 4**

They stayed the night at the inn beside the temple. The next morning, Paige rose first and stepped outside for a breath of fresh air. Approaching her was a young man with spiky, plant-like blue hair. He seemed not to leave footsteps or raise dust when he walked.

"Summoner Paige, are you?" asked the man.

"Yes"

"Then prepare to die, as I am the only summoner who is going to defeat Sin".

At that moment Auron came out of the inn.

"Seymour, you son of a bitch! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I am eliminating all those who would defeat Sin, so I can become the next Sin!"

"You won't find me that easy!" said Paige.

Auron slashed Seymour with his sword, but it went through him as he was only a spirit. Paige raise up a block of ice under him, and he yelled out "Come to me, Anima!'

The sky darkened, and a large chain with a triangular hook on the end slammed into the ground. It rose much more slowly, as it was hauling a reptilian creature up with it. It was bound in chains, and had two large scales on either side. It had a dinosaur-like head, with scales and fangs.

 Paige spread out her arms and several blocks of ice slammed into the ground. A spirit floated down into the ice, and all the pieces shattered. A woman made entirely of ice was standing there. She dropped a block of ice onto Anima, and then sent a shower of ice at her. Anima opened her mouth and blasted Shiva, weakening her. Shiva summoned a large ball of ice and threw it at Anima. It settled all around her, making her immobile. Shiva then snapped her fingers and the ice shattered.

Anima roared in pain, and she opened her mouth. The air around her went black, and then she released it in a single blast. Shiva had just enough time to drop another block of ice onto Anima, before she died. Paige then held out her hands, forming a portal of lightning. A unicorn made entirely of lighting jumped out and started to prance around. Paige gave him an order, and he fired off two pulses of electricity, which struck Anima. He then slashed her with his horn, and jumped back. He sent an electrical charge from his horn, which picked up Anima, and slammed her back down to the ground again. Pyreflies came off her, and she disappeared.

At that moment, Piper came out of the inn. She saw Seymour and got ready to blow him up

"Don't do it", said Paige, but she was too late. Piper blew up Seymour, and he exploded into fragments.

"Nice job, sis", said Paige.

"Thank you"

At that moment everyone else came out of the inn.

"We just defeated Seymour", said Paige. "The Maesters are right".

"But knowing him, he'll be back", said Auron. "Did you send him?"

"Send him where?" said Paige.

"The dead need guidance", said Parvati. "Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. In time they become fiends which prey on the living. The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they can rest in peace".

"Oh, yeah. Maechen explained that ages ago", said Paige. "I forgot".

"Where to now?" asked Phoebe.

"We cross those mountains and then we will be in Guadosalam, the home of the Guado and Maester Yuma. 

They set off up into the mountains, and several vultures swooped down to attack. Paige flashed out her sabre and sliced one of them, who fell down. The second one went for Phoebe and slashed her cheek. She quickly drew her scimitars and killed it. Piper destroyed the last one.

"Why didn't you use any magic?" asked Parvati.

"We're trying to improve our weapon skills" replied Paige.

"Why? The only weapon I have is a short dagger. I rely on my magic".

"Yes, but we have been trained with magic all our lives, so we know how to use it".

"Your magic is not strong enough to beat some of the creatures you will encounter. You must learn more powerful spells if you want to beat Sin".

For the next twenty minutes, Parvati explained all about casting elemental spells such as fire, lightning, ice, water, wind and earth. After she had finished she said to them "Now you try it".

Piper raised her hand and sent a lightning bolt at the nearest tree, scorching it and causing the others to back away.

"Watch what you're doing!", said Parvati. "Just keep practising those spells in your own time – you don't have to put a lot of energy into them like Piper just did!"

After a day and a half, they reached Guadosalam and turned in at the inn. The whole village was made out of living wood, of trees still in the ground. Windows peeped out through boughs, and the doors were very small. At the north end was a large mansion.

"Maester Yuma's house", said Auron. "Let's go".

They approached the house and were admitted by the two Guado guards to a two-storeyed foyer. Paige and Phoebe examined the paintings on the walls.

"Those are all the previous Guado Maesters", said Auron.

"They're all the same", said Phoebe.

"Not that end one", replied Paige. It showed a young man with long, spiky blue hair and blue veins sticking out of his forehead.

"That was Maester Seymour", said Paige. "He used everyone for his own personal gain, nothing else".

"Even the Guado", came a voice behind them.

They turned and were facing an old Guado man with long green hair in bent spikes. "Trommel Guado at your service", he said. "Come, Maester Yuma awaits you".

He led them into a large banquet hall with tables covered in food. As soon as they entered, Maester Yuma called out "Help yourselves".

After eating, Yuma beckoned for them to follow her. She led them outside onto a balcony. They stood there admiring the starry sky when the scene changed.

They were in the middle of a huge city run by machina. There were lights everywhere and even though it was night time, the streets were packed. 

"This is Zanarkand!" exclaimed Parvati.  "My mother told me that she saw it on Lady Yuna's pilgrimage".

"You are correct, Parvati", said Yuma. "Zanarkand as it looked 1,000 years ago. I constructed this illusionary city from the thoughts and memories of the dead on the Farplane".

"Hmph", said Auron. "It is not real, so why bother trying?"

"It gives us a glimpse of life one thousand years ago in the Holy City of Yevon".

They went back down into the banquet hall and Phoebe said "Did Yevon live in Zanarkand?"

"Yes", replied Maester Yuma. "He was the leader of the city one thousand years ago".

A ghostly figure of a woman wearing skimpy lingerie appeared in the hall, and so did a man who was almost totally covered in armour.

"Lady Yunalesca and Lord Zaon", said Yuma. The two figures embraced and kissed.

"Yunalesca was Yevon's daughter", she continued. "The two of them were the first people to defeat Sin".

"Well it obviously didn't work, but we'll kill him for good", said Piper


	5. Prue

**Chapter 5**

"While you're here in Guadosalam, do you want to visit the Farplane?" asked Yuma.

"What!" exclaimed Paige. "We're not dead and that's where the dead people go!"

"I know", replied Yuma, "but you can go to visit, and still be able to leave. Don't you have any dead friends or relatives that you want to visit?"

"Oh, sorry", said Paige. "Yeah, I'll go".

"So are we", said Piper and Leo.

"Me too", said Phoebe.

"Parvati and I will remain here", said Auron. "It's not my place and Parvati told me she never wanted to go there".

Maester Yuma led them up a huge staircase and said "This is as far as I'll be going. To summon the spirit of one who has died, then all you need to do is think about them, although they may respond better if you call out to them. I'll be back in my manor".

They climbed the rest of the stairs and emerged onto a platform surrounded by swirling mists. Through the mists they could make out meadows, waterfalls and other features of an idealistic landscape. They followed Piper to the edge where she yelled out "Prue!"

The mist swirled, and then the figure of a pretty woman with shoulder-length black hair appeared. She was wearing a black dress and seemed to be hovering in mid-air over the edge of the platform.

_:Hi__ guys,:_ said Prue, although no sound came out. They all heard her voice in their minds.

"Prue!" said Piper! "How are you"

_:I'm__ alright,:_ said Prue._ :Piper, Phoebe, how are you going?:_

"Okay", replied Phoebe. "Prue, this is our half-sister, Paige. She replaced you in the Power of Three when you were…"

_:Killed__?:_ supplied Prue

"Yes"

"I've heard a lot about you Prue", said Paige.

_:Yes__, and I've heard that you are now a summoner,: _said Prue.

"How?"

_:The__ Fayths told me,: _said Prue. _:They__ visit the Farplane, and they told me you can summon Aeons. I hear you are seeking to destroy the Source.:_

"Sin", corrected Piper. "What do you do here all day, Prue?"

_:Well__, I spend most of my time talking to the matriarchs of the Halliwell line, mainly Gramps.:_

At that moment, as the thought of their grandmother entered their minds, she appeared.

"Gramps!" exclaimed all of them.

"Hello Penny" said Leo.

_:It's__ good to see you again,: _said Penny. _:I__ am very proud to see you, Paige, taking on the duty to defeat Sin. All of us are with you, especially Melinda.:_

At that moment, Melinda shimmered into view and said _:I__ would love to see the Charmed Ones defeat Sin, I really would.:_

"We should get going", said Paige. It was nice to meet you, Prue, and you as well, Melinda".

"Good luck!" called the three of them, as they disappeared.

"Before we go", said Leo, "let's see if Seymour is here".

They yelled out to Seymour, but got no response. 

"How did they talk to us?" asked Paige. "There were no sounds up there".

"It's called mindspeech", said Parvati. "It's not that hard to do. All you have to do is concentrate your thought on the person you want to mindspeak to and then just think the message to them". _:Like__ this,:_ she mindsent.

_:I__ hear you,:_ Paige sent back.

_:This__ s easy!: _said Phoebe.

They then headed back down the stairs and went to Yuma's manor.

"Your Grace", said Leo, "While we were there, we called out to Seymour but he wasn't there. That means he has escaped".

"I will look into it", said Yuma.

"I've already fought him once", said Paige, "and it's not something I want to do again".

"You faced Seymour and survived!?" asked Yuma. "You're more powerful than I thought".

"Powerful enough to defeat Sin?"

"Only time will tell, Lady Paige".

They left Yuma's house and stayed the night at the inn. The next morning they set off, but not too far from Guadosalam they saw a woman in a black dress standing in the middle of the road. She was wearing a spiky black head-dress and she had a menacing look on her face.

"This is Sorceress Edea", said Auron. "She has Guardian Forces at her command, but they are no match for Aeons. They have only one attack".

As they approached, Edea walked straight up to Paige and said "Summoner Paige, are you?"

"Yes"

"Then prepare to die, insolent fool, as no-one but Seymour will defeat Sin. I am to destroy you for him!"

Paige spread out her arms and the blocks of ice slammed into the ground. Shiva appeared in the ice and shattered the blocks. She then raised up a pinnacle of ice under Edea. 

Edea raised her arms and a ring of fire appeared. A creature a little like Ifrit appeared and flew up into the air, gathering fire as he went. He then released it onto Shiva, hurting her badly. Shiva drew in energy from around her and unleashed it as a sheet of ice around Edea. She snapped her fingers and the ice shattered, and she disappeared. At the same instant, Phoebe cast a lightning bolt at her. _:Good__,: _sent Parvati.. _:I__ see you're perfecting your magic.:_

Apparently they had hurt Edea, as she cringed after Phoebe's lightning bolt hit her. She raised her arms and a hole in the ground appeared. A pale green rabbit with a ruby on his forehead jumped out of the hole, cast a green light at Edea and jumped back down the hole, which closed itself over.

_:Don't__ touch her, she's ...: _sent Parvati, but she was too late. Piper had already cast a fireball at Edea, and it bounced off her and struck Piper, who fell down. Leo rushed over to heal her while Paige summoned Ixion. While he was appearing, Parvati senta white light at Edea and sent _:Her__ Reflect spell's gone, so you can cast magic at her again.:_

 Ixion sent two pulses of light at Edea, and then lifted her up with a pulse of lightning, slamming her back down onto the ground.  Parvati raised her arms and shouted something in another language, and then the whole area around Edea went dark. A bright, incandescent light appeared and then expanded, covering the whole area. The light dimmed and a massive black sphere was exploding around Edea, who had to have been at the centre. When it cleared, pyreflies were coming off Edea's rapidly disappearing body

"What was that spell?" asked Paige.

"Ultima", replied Parvati. "The most powerful spell in existence".

"Could you teach it to us?"

"I can try. However, to be able to inflict heavy damage like I did, you must have incredibly powerful magic".

"That's us, all right", said Piper.

"I have heard of some pretty powerful witches who couldn't master Ultima though", said Leo.

"But we're the Charmed Ones!" said Piper.

"Okay", said Parvati. The incantation for the spell is 'Incantus, fulchur, ultemica! Try it, Paige!"

Parvati walked into the bushes chanting something, and a moment later she emerged with a wolf behind her. "Cast the spell on the wolf, Paige!"

"Incantus, fulchur, ultemica!" chanted Paige, and the area went dark. The light appeared and after the spell was over, there were no remains of the wolf to be found.

They set off again but before long they saw three men standing by the roadside. When they saw Paige, they moved into the middle of the path. Paige could now see that they were demons. One was a short black man, the second was tall and blonde and the last was a woman with flaming red hair.

"Piper, freeze them!" said Phoebe.

Piper froze the first two and then blew them up but the woman was unaffected by Piper's spell. She raised up a pinnacle of rock under Piper who jumped back. Paige, however, summoned Ifrit, who summoned a meteor and sent it at the demon. She burst into flames and disappeared.

"Well done Paige", said Piper.

"You're not finished yet!" came a voice from behind them.

Seymour was standing there. "Why did you kill Edea?" he asked. "She was just following my orders"

"Well, if you intend to finish her job then you'll be next!" said Piper.

"Prepare yourselves!"

He rose off the ground about 3 metres and his skin and clothes went completely white. A large machine rose up behind him and hovered there. It had a skull like head and a sharp pincer.

_:Go__ for the Mortibody, that machine,: _sent Parvati. _:It__ sucks health from __Seymour__ to cast its own spells and to replenish its life. It will eventually kill him if damaged enough.:_

Piper threw a fireball at the Mortibody, and it shuddered. Seymour's face twisted as if he was in pain. Paige then summoned Valefor, who used her energy ray on both Seymour and the Mortibody. She then flew up and formed a circle in front of herself. Pulses of light came from the circle, and exploded on hitting Seymour and his machine.

Seymour raised his hands and said 'Death awaits you!' Valefor disappeared instantly and then Paige and Parvati cast Ultima on them. The Mortibody exploded and Seymour disappeared in a cloud of pyreflies.

"I see Maester Yuma failed to take care of him", said Paige.

"Maybe she couldn't find him", said Piper.

"But if he is already dead then how can we destroy him once and for all?" asked Phoebe.

"I'll check with the Elders", said Leo. "At the moment this guy is very dangerous to us, especially Paige". He orbed out.

"We must go to Bevelle and explain this to Maester Maechen" said Paige. "He will know what to do, but it will involve a detour, as we didn't intend to go there".

"But there is a temple in Bevelle", said Auron. "You must obtain all the Aeons if you want to beat Sin"

At that moment, Leo orbed back in.

"The Elders don't know how to defeat Seymour" said Leo, "but they told me that either Maechen or Yuma will. Let's go to Bevelle and check with them"

They set off north and after two days they entered Macalania Forest. They camped near the entrance and the next day, Auron said "Follow me. Bevelle is not far".


	6. Mt Gagazet

**Chapter 6**

They followed Auron to a large bridge which led into a large city. "This is the Highbridge and it leads into Bevelle itself". They walked along it and found themselves in an open plaza. At the very north, in the centre of the city, was a large round building with several paths leading into it.

"The Palace of St Bevelle" said Auron. "The Heart of Yevon".

Two men were standing at the entrance to the palace. They were wearing helmets and upper body armour.

"State your business", said one of them.

"I am Summoner Paige and these are my guardians. I am here to pray at the temple and also to speak to Maester Maechen".

"You may enter"

They walked through the doors and found themselves in a room with a large spiral staircase. Parvati pushed some buttons on the panel and they then stepped onto the staircase, which started to move. It took them down to the bottom, where Auron pushed open the door.

"The Cloister of Trials", said Auron. "Let's go!"

They were on a coloured path of light, and there was a pedestal in front of them containing a white sphere. Auron pushed the pedestal onto the moving path and it sunk into the ground and became a platform.

"Get on, everyone" said Auron.

They stepped onto the platform and it started to move. It carried them down a steep slope and onto another path of light. About halfway along they came to an intersection with two paths leading off to the right and left. Auron leaned to the left and the pedestal carried them into the left passage. They stepped off the platform as it reformed into a pedestal again. Piper picked up the sphere on the wall and said "Should I carry this with us?"

"No", replied Auron. Stick it in the pedestal and we'll take it out of there when we need it".

She placed it in the pedestal, and then pushed the pedestal out onto the path again.   
They continued along the path again, and just when it seemed they were going to fall off the end, there was a flash of white light and they were back at the start of the path. When they reached the intersection Parvati leaned right, and they got off on the right path. Phoebe took the sphere out of the pedestal and placed it in the recess in the wall there. They pushed the pedestal onto the path again and rode it to the end.

At the start of the passage, there was now a path leading down to the right. Parvati leaned right and they went down to the lower level. At the intersection at the bottom she leaned right again and they went down a long passage to a small room at the bottom with a single Bevelle sphere in the wall. Leo took it out and placed it in the pedestal, and then pushed the pedestal out onto the path. They rode it back to the top, and Piper leaned right. Just as they came to the end, Auron leaned right and they turned into a passage. The platform became a pedestal again, and Phoebe removed the sphere and placed it in the slot in the wall. A bridge of light appeared. Leo pushed the pedestal back onto the path and they got on. As they reached the end, there was a flash of light and they were back at the start. At the 2nd intersection leading to the right, Auron leaned right and the platform carried them to a recess with a glyph sphere. He took the glyph sphere out of the wall and placed it on the platform-turned-pedestal. They then pushed it back onto the path, and when they reached the third intersection, Parvati leaned right and they were back where they had placed the Bevelle sphere. However, Auron pushed the pedestal onto the path that they had created and it once again became a platform. They stepped on and reached a dead end with a recess on the wall. The platform became a pedestal once again and Parvati took the glyph sphere and placed it in the wall. A green light appeared and then faded as Piper pushed the pedestal back onto the path. They reached the 'island' in the middle of the two paths again and Phoebe pushed the pedestal back onto the original path. They reached the end and were back at the start. As they reached the first intersection Phoebe leaned right. "We haven't been down here before" she said. "I feel that this is the way to the Chamber of the Fayth".

At the end of the path there was a flight of stairs leading up. They followed Auron along a passage leading to the right, and came to a large stone door. As Paige approached the door it opened and she entered. After about 5 minutes she returned.

"Now that I have done that, let's find Maester Maechen" she said.

They went along a passage to the left of the Chamber of the Fayth and found a platform in a circular shaft. "Get on" said Auron. "It's an elevator".

The elevator took them up to a red carpeted corridor, and they were met by a woman in a greenish-brown dress and a green headdress. 

"State your business" she said.

"We need to talk to Maester Maechen" replied Paige.

"Follow me"

She led them to a circular room with many windows. Maechen was standing there looking out over the city of Bevelle.

"Good day Maester Maechen" said Paige.

"Greetings, Summoner Paige", said Maechen, turning to face her.

"We need your help, your Grace" said Paige. "Seymour has definitely escaped the 

Farplane and he keeps trying to kill us".

"I was told that either you or Maester Yuma would know how to defeat him for good", said Leo.

       "You must have heard wrongly. Who told you that?"

"The Elders"

"Yevon's servants do not know what they are talking about. Shelinda!"

The woman who had shown them in re-entered. "Yes, Your Grace?"

"Please tell Maester Yuma to come and see me".

The woman left and a few minutes later Maester Yuma entered the room. "You summoned me, Maester Maechen? Oh, hello, Lady Paige".

"Summoner Paige and Whitelighter Leo told me that you know how to defeat Seymour for good" said Maester Maechen. "What do you know?"

"He has already escaped the Farplane", said Yuma, "so killing him won't work. However from reading Yevon's teachings closely, I have found that there is a way. I have blessed four crystals with Yevon's power. Arrange them in a circle around Seymour and he should die".

"The crystal cage only works on the Source" said Phoebe. "We have already tried it on other demons but nothing happened. I don't think it will work".

"Were your crystals infused with the power of Yevon?" asked Yuma.

"No, but we'll give it a try" said Paige. Who knows, it might even work".

"He won't just stand there and let you kill him" said Maechen. "You'll have to fight him first. Are you up to it?"

"Yes, but last time we faced him he had a big robot-like creature with him" said Piper. 

"It's called a Mortibody" said Leo. "The Elders forbid their use".

"So does Yevon" said Maechen. "They are the worst form of forbidden machina"

"The Mortibody, along with the powered-up version, the Mortiorchis, sucks health from its user to heal itself and cast spells" said Yuma. "Keep hitting it and it will eventually destroy Seymour. Then use the crystal cage on him".

"Why is he doing this?" asked Paige.

"He desires ultimate power" said Maechen. "He wants to be Sin and rule supreme. He seeks to cast down Yevon and be the ultimate being".

"How does he plan to do this?" asked Phoebe.

"He seeks a magical artifact called the Hollow" replied Maechen. "It will let him absorb any magic cast at him. This artifact is so powerful that the last time it was released Yevon and Yu Yevon had to team up in order to stop it destroying the world and even then all they could do was confine it. That was when the separation between the two was not that great. If it were released now, then they wouldn't do it again.

"We've already taken care of that", said Piper. "The previous Source/Sin released it and us and an evil sorceress put it back".

       "No", said Maester Maechen. "Only Yevon and Yu Yevon can do it. Yu Yevon is the evil half of Yevon which turned Sin evil. They separated after the destruction of Zanarkand".

"What would Seymour do with the Hollow anyway?" asked Paige.

"He would provoke Yevon and Yu Yevon into destroying him but as soon as they used any powers on him then he would take their powers and destroy them. He would rule supreme".

:"We can't let that happen!" said Phoebe.

"The world would cease to exist" said Auron. "With Seymour as a god he would destroy everything as he is crazy".

"I know" said Yuma. "What I don't know is where the Hollow is. But there is a way to cancel out its powers so you can cast spells on him even if the power of the Hollow is within him". She held up a jeweled dagger. "This is blessed with Yevon's power. If Seymour has the power of the Hollow inside him then throw it at him. You should see hundreds of bee like creatures fly out of him". 

"Thank you"

"Get some rest" said Maechen. "You must get to Zanarkand as soon as possible so be prepared to use magic".

Shelinda escorted them to their quarters and they left the palace early the next morning. After entering Macalania woods again they turned to the left and were facing a large grassy area.

"The Calm Lands" said Auron. "They are identical to the Calm Lands in Spira. In Spira's calm lands the High Summoners fought Sin and defeated it".

"What is that mountain over there?" asked Piper.

"Mt Gagazet" said Auron. "The sacred mountain of Yevon and home of the

Ronso"

"What are those birds over there?" asked Paige.

Standing to their left beside a small building were several large yellow birds. They had saddles on their backs and reins on their heads.

"They are chocobos" said Auron. "You ride them".

"Do we have to pay for them?" asked Phoebe.

"No" replied Auron. "Although it may seem otherwise, the Calm Lands are very dangerous, so speed is essential. A chocobo can run very fast and avoid the monsters hidden in the Calm Lands". 

Auron went over to the lady standing beside the chocobos and soon returned leading 6 chocobos.

       "Do you all know how to ride a horse?" asked Auron. They all said yes.

"This will be no different then. Get on".

They jumped on the chocobos and started off across the Calm Lands. "This is fun!" exclaimed Paige.

All too soon the ride came to an end. Paige however kept on going and the chocobo suddenly reared up and threw her off. She lay on the ground and Leo rushed over to her. "Are you okay?" he said.

"Yeah" said Paige. "Come on, let's go".

They crossed a bridge which spanned a deep chasm. After that there was a second bridge but Auron stopped them as they went to cross it. "Down here" he said, leading them down a path which lead down into the chasm. He stopped at the entrance to a passage leading underground. "This is the Cavern of the Stolen Fayth" he said.

"The 'stolen' Fayth?" asked Paige.

"Years ago some Al Bhed stole a Fayth from a temple and hid it here" said Parvati.

"Why?" asked Phoebe.

"My mother explained this to me. Summoners must pray at every temple and get every Aeon in order to beat Sin so the Al Bhed stole it to stop this. They kidnap summoners to stop throwing away their lives in order to beat Sin, as they believe that it can be beaten with machina instead".

"Well, let's get this 'stolen Aeon' now" said Paige.

They set off into the cavern and were confronted by a creature made of iron and carrying a huge sword. 

_:That's an Iron Giant,: _sent Parvati. _:They are vulnerable to Ultima.:_

Paige cast Ultima at the Iron Giant and Parvati did it at the same time. The monster was gone.

"Don't get cocky" said Auron. "There are many more powerful fiends in this cavern, so be prepared".

They found out what he was talking about when they rounded a corner and found themselves face to face with a creature made of mist. 

"A wraith!" exclaimed Parvati. "Paige, summon!"

Paige spread out her arms and a large blue dragon with a gold wheel on his back landed beside her and folded his arms. _:I am Bahamut, King of Dragons,: _he announced to Paige in her mind.

 Paige waved at the wraith, and Bahamut formed four balls of energy – one on the end of each arm and wing – and threw them at the wraith. It took a lot of damage but drew in its power and blasted Bahamut, but he ducked as the gold wheel lifted off his back. The wheel rotated and a stream of light came off and covered the wraith. The stream widened and then disappeared, along with the wraith.

They proceeded to the back of the cavern where they were confronted by the spirit of a young man with long hair tied back in a ponytail.

"Isaaru!" exclaimed Auron. "What are you doing here?"

Isaaru said nothing but spread out his arms. A moon appeared high in the cavern and a blossom tree appeared. A dog barked and then bounded towards the tree as a man stepped out from behind it. He was dressed in an orange Japanese robe and he had a large hat on his head.

_:The Aeon Yojimbo,: _sent Parvati. _:To get him we must beat him.:_

Parvati cast Ultima at Yojimbo while Paige summoned Bahamut, who immediately started to form his impulse attack. He threw the four balls at Yojimbo, and then the dog ran over and slashed Bahamut with his claws. Bahamut then dropped down and the symbol came off his back. The light came off and surrounded Yojimbo who then drew three daggers from inside his robe and threw them at Bahamut. Bahamut collapsed so Paige summoned Shiva. Shiva raised a block of ice under Yojimbo, but he drew his sword and blasted her. She covered him in ice and then shattered it with a snap of her fingers. He then threw some more daggers at her and she died. Piper threw a fireball at Yojimbo while Parvati cast Ultima at him. Phoebe cast a lightning spell at him and Paige summoned Ixion. He sent the two pulses of lightning at Yojimbo, which was enough to kill him. He collapsed and pyreflies came off him and the dog, and they disappeared. The spirit of Isaaru was sitting on the floor and he was very weak.

"Paige, send him!" said Auron. 

"Ok". _:Parvati, how do I do it?: _she sent.

_:You will him to go the Farplane, and then do whatever feels right to you. There is no one true way to do this.:_

She raised up her arms and said "Spirit of the dead, I command you to the Farplane. Go now!" Pyreflies came off Isaaru and vanished.

Auron took two bags from inside his tunic and handed them to Paige, who almost dropped them. "What the hell is in these?" she asked.

"Gold" replied Auron.

"Gold!" exclaimed Paige.

"Yes" replied Auron. "Yojimbo is a mercenary, and he will only aid you if you pay him. Stand on that platform to get to the Chamber of the Fayth".

Paige stood on the platform and was immediately in a room with a large statue in the floor. When she looked closer she saw it was Yojimbo. She prayed and the figure of a samurai appeared above the statue.

"I am Yojimbo"

"I beg you to help me" said Paige. 

"I am a mercenary, a sword for hire. How much will you pay me?"

"Will 200,000 gold coins be enough?"

"210,000 gold? Do we have a deal?"

"Yes"

Paige handed over the gold and the Fayth entered her body. She then left the Chamber of the Fayth and returned to everyone else.

"Auron, where did you get the gold?" asked Paige.

"I found it lying around" said Auron. "If you know where to look it's not too hard to find. However, you'll need more as Yojimbo must be paid before he will make any attack".

They walked back to the entrance without incident, but just as they were about to leave they were confronted by a winged black creature. It cast a spell on itself but Paige summoned Yojimbo and paid him some gold. He held up two fingers and flames sprang from those fingers. A sword flew up out of the ground. He caught it and drew the blade out, and then spun around twice. He then delivered a devastating downward slash and sliced the creature in half. He then disappeared and they left the cavern.

"That killed him in one hit!" said Piper. "That's a very powerful Aeon you have there!"

"That attack is called _Zanmato_, meaning 'demon edge'" said Parvati. "It will kill anything at all".

"It is time to get an even more powerful Aeon" said Auron. "Anima, the Aeon that Seymour used when you faced him". 

"I can summon that thing? Cool!"

"You must get it first" said Auron. "Follow me".

He led them across the chasm to a narrow passage leading down to a lake with ancient stone bridges leading over the water. "The temple entrance is below the water level" said Auron. "Can you all swim?"

"Yes" they replied. 

"Well, jump in and follow me".

They jumped into the water and swam after Auron, who led them to an ancient stone doorway, the door long gone. They climbed up some stairs and found themselves in a circular hall with an entrance opposite them. 

"Hell, I'm drenched" said Piper.

Paige raised her arms and simply said "dry". The water vanished from their clothes and they were dry again.

"I see you're learning to cast magic with your thoughts rather than words" said Parvati.

Phoebe, however had found a chest partially buried in the ruined hall and had managed to pry it open. Inside was a large sceptre with a flower on the end. She brought it back to the rest of them and asked "what's this?"

"I think it may have something to do with a hidden Aeon" said Parvati. "Keep it".

They proceeded through the door opposite them into the strangest Cloister of Trials they had ever seen. There were only five statues in it, each with a coloured glyph behind it. As Paige approached each one, the sphere in front of it lit up. 

"To obtain Anima, a very powerful Aeon, you must have obtained all of the previous Aeons beforehand" said Auron. "Go into the Chamber of the Fayth and Anima's power will be yours to command".

Paige entered the Chamber of the Fayth but quickly re-emerged. "Everyone, come on in" she said.

"It's taboo!" said Parvati. "Only summoners…"

"The Fayth wishes it. She told me".

They all entered the Chamber of the Fayth. There was a statue of the Aeon Seymour had summoned sunken into the ground, and above it was the spirit of a beautiful middle aged woman.

"Welcome, everyone. I am Seymour's mother, Anima".

"I don't mean to offend you or anything, but your son is a complete loser" said Piper.

"I know" said Anima. "It was my fault, too".

"Your fault?" asked Phoebe.

"Yes. Maester Jyscal and I loved each other dearly but a half human half Guado child is frowned upon. To help him be accepted, I became a Fayth so he would have some power, but the small amount I gave him went to his head. He became obsessed with ruling supreme and he used my Aeon to help him. I was relieved when Yuna sent him but he found a way to escape the Farplane. However my niece, Maester Yuma's crystal cage will destroy him for good. I beg you, stop Seymour!"

"I promise you, he will die" said Paige. "We'll destroy him once and for all!"

"Then take what you came here for" said the Fayth. "The dark Aeon, Anima!"

She entered Paige's body and they left the Chamber of the Fayth. 

"Now we go to Mt Gagazet" said Auron. "On the other side is Zanarkand".

"I'm not looking forward to this…" said Paige.

"Enough. Let's go".

They crossed the second bridge and came to the base of Mt Gagazet. At the gate there were several Ronso, Kelk among them. 

"Greetings, Lady Paige" said Kelk. "Welcome to Gagazet, sacred mountain of Yevon. On the other side lies Zanarkand".

"Watch out for Seymour, Your Grace" said Paige. "He wants to kill me so he will probably follow me".

"Kelk knows. Seymour kill Kelk once before. Now Kelk wise".

"You mean you're undead too?" asked Phoebe.

"Unsent" replied Kelk. "All Maesters unsent. Even Grand Maester Maechen".

"It was that way in Spira" said Auron quietly.

"But unsents become fiends" said Piper. "How come you guys are still good?"

"Maesters serve Yevon. Yevon protect from evil".

"Seymour turned evil" said Paige.

"But remember what Anima said" said Leo. "She gave Seymour some power but he wanted more, so he used everyone to gain it. Even live people do that".

"Lady Paige, you must continue your pilgrimage. We will have grand party when you defeat Sin".

"I wish I could be there as well".

"Who knows? You still could be" said Piper. "There must be some way to defeat Sin without you dying".

"You must go" said Kelk. "The sacred heights of Gagazet await you!"

They set off up the mountain, Auron in the lead, Paige, Piper and Phoebe behind him and Leo and Parvati in the rear.

"Leo, what exactly does a Whitelighter do?" asked Parvati.

"We protect witches and ensure that they do not die at the hands of evil".

"So you are to witches what guardians are to summoners?"

"Sort of. Whitelighters are guardian angels so we have powerful magic which we may not use except in an urgent situation".

They set up camp for the night in an ice cave part way up. Piper lit a fire and cooked dinner. After they had eaten they took out their sleeping bags and went to sleep. 

The next morning they ate a cold breakfast before starting out early. They plodded on up the mountain, mile after mile until they came to a clearing and sat down for a rest. Leo stood at the edge of the mountain and stared off into the distance. Parvati walked over and joined him.

"Zanarkand is on the other side, you know" she said.

"I know".

"Paige is going to get the Final Aeon".

"I've feared that. The Elders told me I must let it happen but as her Whitelighter I won't just be able to stand there and let her die. She is too dear to me".

At that moment Piper came over to them. "You guys are chatting?" she said. "You're not going to let her go down there and die? She's your sister too".

"Don't you think we want to stop her?" said Leo.

"You won't have to" came a voice from behind them.

They turned and saw Seymour standing there, staring at them with hatred in his eyes.

"Your journey is over" he said. "Now all of you will die and I will be Sin!"

_:Leo,: _sent Parvati, _:Has __Seymour__ found the Hollow?:_

_:No. He believes he will find the answer in our deaths.:_

"Seymour!" came a shout. Paige and Phoebe had arrived.

"Ah, Lady Paige. It is a pleasure to see you again".

"I'll only be pleased when you're dead for good!" she yelled.

Seymour stepped off the cliff and a huge robot caught him and brought him back up. However he had become a demon. His skin and hair were bleach white and his eyes had an insane glow.

_:Remember,: _sent Parvati to all of them, _:Go for the Mortiorchis.:_

Parvati cast Ultima at the Mortiorchis but it hit Seymour as well. Piper and Phoebe both cast fire spells at the Mortiorchis and Paige held a clenched fist aloft. Part of the sky went dark and a huge chain with a triangular hook on the end slammed into the ground and dragged up Anima.

"You thief!" roared Seymour. "My mother gave that to me! It's _mine!_"

"Your mother said she didn't want anything to do with you" said Paige.

"Then she will die!"

He cast a bolt of lightning at Anima, who opened her mouth and blasted Seymour. His Mortiorchis raised up a spear and struck out with it but Anima dodged it. She then caused the air itself to go dark as she drew in her power and released it with a single blast at Seymour and his robot. The Mortiorchis stuck a long needle-like implement into Seymour, weakening him but making itself stronger.

Anima then lowered the two of them into a time stop and the ground went transparent. Under her top half was another half with a grotesque skull for a head. She snapped the chains binding her and pummelled both her son and the Mortiorchis and then slammed them back down onto the cliff. The Mortiorchis brought out its long needle again and absorbed energy from Seymour. He yelled out "Death awaits you!" and Anima vanished. Parvati cast another Ultima spell at them while Paige summoned Bahamut. He formed his impulses and threw them at the Mortiorchis. He then ducked and his wheel started to rotate. The light came off the wheel and covered both Seymour and the Mortiorchis. When it disappeared the Mortiorchis was in the process of blowing up and Seymour was his normal self again and he was lying on the ground.

"Quick, Paige, the crystals!" said Phoebe.

Paige took the four crystals from Maester Yuma and placed them in a circle around Seymour. A bolt of light sprang up from each crystal and formed a cage around Seymour.

"Quick, the spell!" said Piper.

The three Charmed Ones joined hands and recited the spell:

"Prudence, Penelope, Patricia, Melinda,

"Astrid, Helena, Laura and Grace,

"Halliwell witches stand strong beside us,

"Vanquish this evil from time and space!"

Seymour exploded, shattering the crystal cage but leaving the crystals unharmed.

"Finally", said Paige.


	7. Lady Yunalesca

**Chapter 7**

They spent the rest of the day in the clearing and set up camp. Parvati said "I see you mainly use Ultima as your main powerful spell. You should learn another one, which is not quite as powerful but takes less energy. It is called Spectral Flash".

She held out her hands and a small wolf appeared. She then raised her hands, and seven glowing circles surrounded the creature. Columns of light appeared from each disc and they all fell down onto the wolf. The air around it glowed and when it subsided, the wolf had disappeared.

She summoned more wolves and said "You guys try it".

They all tried the spell out and found themselves to be quite good at it. "Good" said Parvati. "You have increased your arsenal of powerful magic".

 The next morning they continued up the mountain until they reached a cave entrance.

"We must go through that cave to get to the top and down to Zanarkand" said Auron. "This is where your world ends and Spira begins".

They entered the dim cave and plodded on, Parvati in the lead with a ball of fire floating above her head. At the other end they emerged in another clearing, where the light was the golden colour of sunrise. Auron led them up the path to the right, and halfway up he pointed and said "look".

Spread out before them were the ruins of some ancient city, which stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. The buildings were sticking up of the rubble like blocks and the golden sunlight reflecting off the city made it seem like it was made of gold.

"Zanarkand" said Auron softly. "A city lost for a thousand years.

They set off silently down the path to Zanarkand, but when they were standing eye to eye with the city it seemed to lose its golden colour. Instead it became a silent, eerie place with many pyreflies floating around. 

Auron led them along the passageways leading into the city. After a while they reached a large building with a dome on top.

"We go in here" he said.

At the entrance there was an old man standing there. "Journeyer of the long road, name yourself" he said.

"I am Summoner Paige".

"Your eyes, my dear. Show me the long road you have travelled", he said. "Lady Yunalesca will surely welcome your arrival. Go to her now, and bring your guardians with you. Go".

They proceeded into the dome area and they saw two ghostly women speaking.

"If it might benefit the future of Spira, I will gladly give my life" said one of the women.  "It is the highest honour for which a guardian might ask. Use my life, Lady Yocun, and rid Spira of Sin".

The figures vanished.  "What was that?" asked Phoebe.

"A memory" replied Auron. "This dome is filled with pyreflies. People's memories remain here forever".

Three more figures appeared. One was a man with long hair and a symbol tattooed onto his chest, one was a man in navy blue robes with a hood on his head and the last was a black-haired man in a red tunic carrying a large sword. Piper realised that it was a younger Auron.

"Hey Braska" said the man with the tattooed chest, "you don't have to do this".

"Thank you for your concern, Jecht" replied Braska.

"Fine" said Jecht. "I said my piece".

"Well I haven't!" said the younger Auron. "Lord Braska, let us go back! I don't want to see you...die!"

"You knew this was to happen, my friend" said Braska.

"Yes, but I…I cannot accept it" said Auron.

Braska chuckled and said "Auron, I am honoured that you care for me so, but I have come to kill grief itself. I will defeat Sin and lift the veil of sorrow covering Spira. Please understand, Auron". 

The figures vanished and Paige said "That was you, Auron?"

"A long time ago, on Braska's pilgrimage".

They continued on and climbed a flight of stairs, stopping in front of the ghostly figures of Jecht, Auron and Braska.

"Are the Trials ahead?" asked Jecht.

"Probably" replied Braska.

"Here too, huh?" said Jecht. "Gimme a break. I was expecting parades and…fireworks!"

"You can ask for them after I defeat Sin" said Braska.

The figures vanished and Auron opened the door in front of them. They were in a room with a grid on the floor and a screen on the far wall. A pattern of shapes was lit up and Auron said "Light up the floor to match the pattern". They did that and seven doors opened. Six contained pedestals and the last led to the next room. Phoebe pushed one of the pedestals and it went into the niche it came from and the door shut. They went into the next room where there was an even bigger grid on the floor and another screen. In the middle of the room there was a pit surrounded by six glyphs. There was another pattern on the screen and Auron said "Make that pattern on the floor like before. When you have finished, push another pedestal in the first room to change the pattern".

They formed the pattern and then pushed the pedestals in to make more. However the last two wouldn't budge. Piper then examined the pedestals closer and saw that they had a recess for holding a sphere. She saw that beside the screen in the second room there were two spheres: a Besaid sphere and a Kilika sphere. She took them out and placed one in each pedestal. The pedestals moved into the niches on their own. They went into the next room and all the glyphs around the pit were glowing. As they approached the pit the room went dark and a huge red demonic creature appeared. 

"The Spectral Keeper!" said Auron. "Kill that thing quick. It's lethal!"

They ran onto the glyphs to do battle and Parvati immediately cast Ultima. Piper watched her carefully and cast an Ultima spell of her own at the monster. To her surprise it did almost as much damage as Parvati's spell. 

_:Your magic is getting more powerful,: _sent Parvati. Paige summoned Anima who drew in all her energy and released it in a single blast. She froze time and pounded the Spectral Keeper, then released him and he slammed back into the ground. He then blew up the glyph that Anima was standing on. She vanished and Paige summoned Yojimbo. He drew his sword and blasted the Spectral Keeper. She gave him a fistful of gold and he held up two fingers. The sword flew out of the ground and he caught it, drew out the blade and sliced the creature in half. The room returned to normal and they stepped off the glyphs. Paige approached the pit and all six glyphs sent a beam of light into the centre of the pit, forming a symbol of Yevon. She stepped onto the symbol and descended. A moment later she reappeared.

"Everyone, come on down" she said.

They stepped onto the platform and descended into the Chamber of the Fayth. Paige pointed at the statue in the centre of the floor and said "that's not a Fayth. It's just an empty statue".

A ghostly priest appeared before them and said "That statue lost its power as a fayth long ago. It is Lord Zaon, the first fayth of the Final Summoning. What you see before you is all that remains of him. Lord Zaon is... his soul is gone."

"You mean there is no Final Aeon" said Piper. "After all we went through to get here!"

"Lady Yunalesca will show you the path. The Final Aeon will be yours. The summoner and the Final Aeon will join powers. Go to her now. Inside, the lady awaits".

They proceeded through the doors and were in a circular room with a set of steps leading up directly opposite them. There were a lot of pyreflies in the room, and a ghostly figure of a woman appeared, dressed only in underwear. They realised that they had seen her at Guadosalam.

"Welcome to Zanarkand" she said. "I congratulate you, summoner. You have completed your pilgrimage. I will now bestow you with that which you seek. The Final Summoning...will be yours. Now, choose."   
      She walked down the stairs and stood level with them.  "You must choose the one whom I will change...to become the fayth of the Final Summoning."   
      Everyone in the room gasped, except for Auron. Yunalesca continued, "There must be a bond between chosen and summoner, for that is what the Final Summoning embodies. The bond between husband and wife, mother and child, brother and sister, or between friends. If that bond is strong enough, its light will conquer Sin. A thousand years ago, I chose my husband Zaon as my fayth. Our bond was true, and I obtained the Final Aeon.   
"There is nothing to fear. You will soon be freed of worry and pain, for once you call forth the Final Aeon, your life will end. Death is the ultimate and final liberation."

"Take your time, Lady Paige. I will await you on the rooftop". She turned and walked out the door.

 "I don't believe this" said Leo. "Losing one witch was going to be bad enough, but two…no way!"

"If one of us is to become a Fayth, then I suggest it to be me" said Phoebe.

"No" said Parvati. "I do not form the Power of Three so therefore you will only lose one witch". 

"There has to be another way" said Paige. "We shouldn't have to give our lives for this".

"Come" said Auron. "We must not keep Yunalesca waiting".

They climbed the stairs and emerged onto the rooftop of the dome. At the opposite side of the rooftop was Yunalesca.

"Have you chosen, Lady Paige?"

"I wish to ask you something first, my lady" said Paige. "Will Sin come back even if I use the Final Summoning to vanquish it?"

"Yes. Sin is eternal. Every Aeon who defeats Sin becomes the next Sin and thus is Sin reborn".

"So that's how Cole became Sin" said Phoebe.

"This isn't right!" said Parvati. "Yevon's teachings state that if we atone for our wrongdoings then someday Sin will disappear forever".

"Do you actually think that humanity will ever attain such purity?"

"It's our only hope" said Parvati. 

"Have you chosen?" said Yunalesca. "Who will be your Fayth? Who will you choose to bring a time of peace to the world?"

"I will not do this!" said Paige. "The Final Summoning is a lie and I will not sacrifice my life for a lie"

"It is the only way" said Yunalesca. "Without it, humanity would die in their own despair"

"Well, we'll find another way" said Piper.

"You fool. There is no other way. Even if you were to defeat Sin without the Final Summoning then Yu Yevon the immortal would create Sin anew and the cycle will begin again"

       "Well, we'll kill him too!" said Piper.

"You will have no chance against him, the evil half of my father. But I won't let you get this far. It is better for you to die in hope than live in despair".

At this moment, the young Auron appeared. He had his sword in his hand and charged towards Yunalesca. She hit him with an energy bolt and he flew back and landed with his sword stabbing into the ground.

Yunalesca levitated and Leo ran forward and slashed her with his sword, which went straight through her. Phoebe summoned Spectral Flash onto her, and she replied by sending a jet of light at Phoebe. Piper and Parvati cast Ultima while Paige cast a powerful fire spell at her. Yunalesca's ghostly face grimaced in pain and she rose up higher. A spherical blackish-red object with lots of tentacles coming out of the top rose from the ground and Yunalesca stood on top of it. Paige summoned Bahamut, and Yunalesca's creature sent its tentacles into the ground. They rose up just in front of Bahamut, who recoiled and used his impulse attack.

She then sent a bolt of lightning at the dragon, who roared in pain. He dropped down, and the symbol on his back lifted off. The stream of light covered Yunalesca, who promptly summoned two bolts of lightning from the sky to strike Bahamut. He died, and Paige then rushed forward to summon Anima, who opened her mouth to blast Yunalesca. Yunalesca then threw a huge fireball at Anima, who cringed. Anima froze Yunalesca in time, broke her chains and pounded her with her fists. Yunalesca then rose higher into the air, and the thing under her rolled backwards, revealing it to be a head with black skin, green glowing eyes and a protruding tongue. The tentacles that had attacked them were its hair. Yunalesca then rose up four pillars around Anima, who instantly disappeared. 

Piper threw a fireball at Yunalesca, who deflected it. Phoebe then sent a bolt of ice at her, while Auron and Leo snuck around Yunalesca and slashed her with their swords. As they had been enchanted by Maester Yuma before leaving Bevelle, they actually dealt damage to her. Parvati cast Ultima. Paige took advantage of their attack to summon Yojimbo. He drew his sword and blasted Yunalesca, who ordered her serpent head to pound him. He drew the three daggers from inside his robe and then threw them at Yunalesca. Paige ran forward and handed him some gold, so he held up his first two fingers on his right hand. The sword flew up out of the ground, and he caught it, drew out the blade and sliced Yunalesca in half. He disappeared, and Yunalesca was crumpled in a heap.

"You…don't…understand. My father….what is left of him…will kill you. I…beg…you…don't!"

"Paige, send her" said Auron.

Paige raised up her arms, and pyreflies came off Yunalesca. They then left the balcony and passed through the Chamber of the Fayth again. They left the Dome, and Auron directed them to one side and said "Step on that platform".

They stepped on it and found themselves to be back at the foot of Mt Gagazet. They were facing the mountain, and all of them were dreading the long, hard climb.

"Let's rest here for a while" said Auron.


	8. Inside the monster

**Chapter 8**

After they had rested, they began to climb Gagazet. The side facing Zanarkand was much steeper than the one leading from the Calm Lands. At the end of the day, they were all extremely exhausted, but they had reached the clearing where they had fought and defeated Seymour. The ground was still scorched from where the crystal cage had exploded, taking the evil former maester with it.  They set up their camp on the other side of the clearing.

"How do we defeat Sin now?" asked Paige.

"I don't think Yunalesca was telling the truth" said Piper. "There has to be some other way to beat that thing. Leo, could you check with the Elders?"

"Ok" he said, orbing out.

But he was back within the space of a minute. "We're on our own here, I'm afraid. The Elders were in shock. Yevon was there, and He was furious that we sent His daughter to the Farplane. They said that we will have to figure this out ourselves".

"We need to get inside Sin and beat the core – the previous Final Aeon – without using a Final Aeon ourselves".

"What, challenge Cole to a battle?" asked Phoebe.

"Cole? Who's Cole?" asked Parvati.

"My ex-husband, the Source of All Evil" said Phoebe.

"He was also my foster brother" said Auron, "when I was brought to this world. He became my sister Belgemine's Final Aeon and thus became Sin".

They rose early the next morning and set off up Gagazet. They reached the summit and looked down at the Calm Lands. They were surprised to see what had changed from the last time they were there.

The Calm Lands were covered in huge machina weapons. People were checking the weapons and moving them into different positions.

"Let's see what's going on" said Paige.

They hurried down Gagazet's slopes and crossed the Calm Lands cautiously. Some people looked at them, but Auron's presence seemed to surprise them. They reached the little building where they had hired the chocobos earlier and found the four Maesters standing discussing something. 

"Lady Paige" said Maester Maechen, "did you obtain the Final Aeon from Lady Yunalesca?"

"No. We faced her in battle and defeated her. There must be another way to defeat Sin without anyone having to give their life"

"Our thoughts exactly" said Maechen. "That's what all the machina is here for. This is Operation Zaon. We will lure Sin here and destroy him with the machina".

"Don't remember what happened the last time you tried this" said Auron.

"What?" asked Paige.

"Sin was too powerful to be destroyed by the machina" said Auron. "Many people died but Sin survived".

"I know" said Kinoc, "but this time we have a new weapon. Come inside and we'll discuss this".

They entered the building and saw a woman in a black dress sitting on a sofa. She stood up when they entered and they saw that it was Edea.

"Edea! What are you doing here?" said Auron.

"You tried to kill us you evil woman!" yelled Phoebe.

"Yes, but Seymour was possessing me at the time. I'm so sorry, everyone".

"Well, we killed him" said Piper.

Leo walked over to her and placed his hands above her head. A green light came off his hands and went into Edea. "It's gone now" he said. "He still had something in you which could have frozen your mind at a critical moment, even though we destroyed him for good".

"Thank you, Leo" said Edea. 

"How do you plan to lure Sin here?" asked Paige.

"We have brought fiends that were formed from Sin's body here" said Yuma. "They are called Sinspawn and Sin always returns for its spawn".

"So will your machina destroy Sin?" asked Parvati.

"I'm not sure" said Kinoc, "but as I said, we have a new weapon this time".

"What is that?" asked Phoebe.

"Me" said Edea. "I have powerful magic and Guardian Forces so I may be able to at least bring Sin down out of the air".

"If you can do that then we'll go inside Sin and beat Cole and Yu Yevon" said Paige.

"You sound confident" said Edea.

"Yes" said Phoebe, "because I know the one inside Sin. He is my ex-husband".

"You're kidding, right?" said Maechen.

"No. I married after we had destroyed his evil side…or so we thought".

"What makes you think that you can beat Yu Yevon" asked Yuma.

"Well, we have the Power of Three, and Paige has her Aeons, so it shouldn't be too hard" said Piper.

"Lady Paige" said Kelk, "Kelk know of most powerful Aeon. I take you there".

"Thank you, Your Grace" said Paige.

Kelk led her to two chocobos tethered to the side of the building and they jumped on. "Follow me" said Kelk as they set off.

Kelk led Paige to the opposite side of the Calm Lands, where there was a ledge of rock down below them. Kelk continued riding and his chocobo jumped off the edge and landed on the stone ledge below. Paige took her cue and followed, landing beside Kelk, who was dismounting.

"We leave chocobos here" he said. "Follow me".

She followed him over a rickety bridge over a deep chasm. At the other side there was a temple, and Kelk disappeared around the side. He soon came back holding a crown that had been fashioned in the form of cherry blossoms. 

"This Blossom Crown" he said. "You find Flower Sceptre at Baaj Temple"

"Yes"

Kelk pushed open the doors and they went inside, where they saw two statues of women flanking a door, which obviously led to the Chamber of the Fayth. Kelk placed the Blossom Crown and placed it on the left woman's head while Paige placed the Flower Sceptre in the right woman's hands. The door shuddered and opened.

"Enter, Lady Paige" said Kelk. "I wait here"

Paige entered the Chamber of the Fayth and was surprised to find not one but _three _statues. She prayed and three ghostly Fayths appeared. One was little more than a child, and of the other two, one was short and fat and the other was tall and thin.

"Lady Paige, you have come" they all said in unison.

"I need your help", said Paige

"For what purpose?" said the Sisters.

"To defeat Sin"

"We will help you, Lady Paige. When Sin is gone, we will stop dreaming and will finally be able to rest in peace".

"I am Sandy" replied the tall one.

"I am Cindy" said the fat one.

"And I am Mindy" said the child.

The three Fayths entered Paige's body and she left the Chamber of the Fayth. Her and Kelk climbed back on their chocobos and went back to the others.

"The Sinspawn are calling out to Sin" said Maechen. "Soon it will be here".

"Leo" said Piper, "can you make sure we're at our best?"

Leo healed each of them in turn: Paige, Phoebe, Piper, Parvati, but when he came to Auron he said "do you need healing? You're already dead"

Auron said "Thanks to Yevon I am as alive as Piper and Phoebe, but I do not need to be healed. Thank you anyway, Leo". 

They put their weapons on and Kinoc said "this is our plan. The Sinspawn have called out to Sin, and he is on his way right now. The Al Bhed will fire everything they've got at it in an attempt to weaken it. After they've weakened it or the guns are destroyed, Edea will strike. Hopefully she should be able to bring Sin down into the chasm over there. Then, Lady Paige, you and your guardians will enter Sin, either through its mouth or a hole we'll make for you. Then you destroy Sin and Yu Yevon, and get back here. Everyone know what to do?"

"Yes!" shouted everyone.

At that moment, a rumble was heard in the sky, followed by a shout "Sin **ec lusa! ****Ypuija ic! Muug uid y bnabyna du vena dra **cannons!"

"It's here!" said Parvati. "Above us! They're preparing to fire!"

They all dashed outside and saw, high in the sky, a huge reptilian creature with many appendages. It had many eyes on the front of its head. As they watched, it came over Gagazet and lowered itself down into the Calm Lands.

"**Vena! Vena!**" yelled a bald Al Bhed dressed in yellow. The next moment there was a bang and the firing started.

Around Sin was a skin of moving water which absorbed every hit from the guns. They kept on firing and eventually, after enough hits, the water shield disappeared. The guns were doing much more damage now. Sin roared and sent down a shockwave, destroying some of the guns. The others kept on firing, never letting Sin have a moment of peace.

"**Yhkma dra **cannons** du** **pnehk **Sin **tufh eh dra **chasm!" shouted the bald Al Bhed. The guns were turned around and Sin was forced above the chasm. The bombardment continued, and Sin sank lower and lower towards the chasm. It sent out another shockwave, this time destroying all the cannons and blasting the Al Bhed operating them backwards.

The four Maesters of Yevon turned and looked at Edea. "Now is the time for you to strike" said Maechen.

"Good luck" said Kinoc and Yuma".

Edea stepped over towards Sin. "Destroy it Odin!" she cried, raising her right hand aloft.

A beam of blue light came off her ring and shot up towards the clouds. There was an explosion and the sky around where the beam had hit went dark. A bright orange light formed in the middle of the dark sky and shot a column of fire down onto Sin. The light got brighter and out of it there came a horseman riding on thin air. The horse had six legs and the man riding on it was armoured and carrying a spear. He rode down until he was above Sin, and drew in his power. He created a ball of red light on the end of his spear, and threw it down at Sin. It struck it and caused a massive explosion, bringing Sin down into the chasm. Sin shrieked in pain, opening his gigantic mouth as wide as he could.

"Now, Lady Paige!" cried Maechen. "Go in and destroy it!"

Paige, Piper, Phoebe, Leo, Parvati and Auron all ran down the path leading to the chasm. But just as they reached Sin's head, the mouth began to shut.

"Quick!" yelled Parvati. "Get in before it closes permanently!"

They ran in and the mouth snapped shut. Inside the monster's body there was a slushy liquid on the ground and a thin white mist surrounding them. There were Yevon symbols on the path and other characters from the Yevon alphabet in floating rings surrounding the path. They walked forward, trying to keep their feet out of the slush on the ground, until they came to a set of stairs. They climbed the stairs and found themselves on a platform.

"This is where we fought Seymour last time, when I was with Yuna" said Auron. "Yuna sent him and I thought that was the last of him"

"Where do we go now?" asked Phoebe.

"To the Tower of the Dead" replied Auron.

They continued on and came to a huge open space. As they watched, a colossal tower appeared high up in the space and slammed down into the ground, shaking the ground and causing Phoebe to lose her balance and fall over. 

"We go into that thing?" asked Phoebe, getting to her feet.

"Yes" said Auron. Yu Yevon is inside".

"Then let's go kick his ass!" said Piper.

They entered the tower and found themselves in a room with a frozen floor. Around the room, pinnacles of ice rose up out of the floor at random. Looking around, they could see no visible exit.

"Look for a glowing orb" said Auron. "It will take us to Cole. Just don't touch the ice pillars, as they call forth powerful monsters". 

They searched around the room and found a glowing orb the size of a football, but as they went to touch it, it disappeared.

"It only stays in one place for a limited time" said Auron. "Paige, you must be the one to touch it".

Paige then spotted the orb just in front of her, and she ran forward and touched it. Immediately the room went white and they found themselves on a large platform. Around them was the giant metropolis of Zanarkand. "Is that really the city?" asked Paige.

"A memory" said Auron. "Let's go"

"Wait" said Leo. "Whitelighters are not allowed to directly engage in the struggle between good and evil, so in the final battle, all I'll be able to do is heal you, however, if all of you die, then I will lose my wings and go to the Farplane like the rest of you. The world's fate is in your hands. If you win this, then the Source of All Evil will be forever gone, and demons and warlocks will have no power"

"Let's get this over with" said Paige.


	9. The Source of All Evil

**Chapter 9**

In the centre of the platform, with his back to them, stood a middle aged man wearing a business suit. He turned around and said "Phoebe, you've come".

"I've come to destroy you" said Phoebe, her voice full of hatred.

"I know you still love me" said Cole.

"I hate you!"

"Hate is passionate, Phoebe. It's just a step away from love".

"I cannot love the Source of All Evil, Cole. I thought we got rid of your evil side"

"Cole" said Auron, "you fought so hard to destroy Sin, with Belgemine and I. Why, then, did you let yourself become Sin?"

"I…couldn't fight it. Yu Yevon's power is just too strong. What it says, I must do. Don't you think I tried to fight it? I didn't come all that way with you and Belgemine just to replace Sin. I wanted to beat it for good, not just become it"

"Cole, can't you fight it at all?" asked Piper.

"I cannot. Soon I'll be Sin. Completely. I don't want to hurt you, having been my family, but when it starts, I won't be myself"

"Let's end this" said Phoebe.

Cole lifted his hands and a sphere of energy formed in his chest. He walked backwards and fell off the edge of the platform. As they stood there, a demonic creature rose up and stepped onto the platform. He had a bald red head with black markings, almost like tattoos, and the rest of his skin was a dark red colour. He had huge claws on his hands and on his back was a pair of jet black wings.

"That's Belgemine's Final Aeon" whispered Auron. "He chose that form when he gave up his life and named it Belthazor"

Cole/Belthazor's eyes turned pure black and he began to draw in energy from around him. 

_:Paige! Use the new Aeon that Kelk got for you!: _sent Parvati.

Paige spread her arms and three balls of light floated downwards. They rested on the ground and became flowers, and the three bug-like sisters emerged from the centre of each flower.

_:Lady Paige, no-one commands us. We do as we will,: _sent Sandy.

"Well, then" said Paige, "if you want to help me defeat Sin, then can you attack him, please?"

Belthazor had finished powering up and a burst of water sprung up under Cindy, launching her into the air. She slammed down on Belthazor's head and then jumped back. Mindy then cast a white halo at Sandy, who Belthazor attacked with his claws. Sandy then ran forward and launched two blades of fire at him. His face showed no reaction as Mindy then flew up and attacked him. He then sent a fireball at all of them, causing all of the Sisters to cry out in pain. He then cast a red shield on himself and stood ready.

"Combine your powers!" said Paige. The Sisters then rose up into the air. Beams of light connected the three of them, forming a triangle. They sent bursts of light down onto Belthazor, and then they landed.

Belthazor's red shield had gone, but he seemed not to take any damage from the attack. He cast another fireball at the Sisters, killing them.

_:Everyone listen,: _sent Parvati. _:On the count of five, everyone cast Ultima on him. One, two, three, four, FIVE!:_

"Incantus, fulchur, ultemica!" shouted everyone but Auron and Leo. The bright light surrounded Belthazor, and then the black sphere exploded around him. He roared in pain and blasted Piper and Phoebe, who were the closest. They fell down with the pain and Paige screamed "NO!!!" 

Leo stood forward and raised up his hands. A golden sphere dropped down into the ground in front of Belthazor, and exploded as a majestic gold-red bird appeared. He blasted Belthazor with his wings and then cast a line of flame at Piper and Phoebe who got up, cured of their injuries.

_:I thought you weren't allowed to engage in battle, Leo?: _sent Paige.

_:I know I wasn't supposed to do that, but it was the quickest way to heal both of them. I will be reprimanded for this by the Elders, but frankly, my wife is more important.:_

"You'll pay for that, Cole!" yelled Phoebe. She then cast Spectral Flash at him, causing his eyes to widen with the intense light. Piper then raised her arms and called down a green light which surrounded all of them.

_:You used Reflect,: _sent Parvati. _:Now his magic will bounce off us and hit him.:_

Belthazor, however, did not recognize the spell. He cast a fireball at them, but it went straight back to him. He roared, in anger more than pain, and tried to cast Reflect on himself, but Parvati countered it by casting a blue light at him. Paige then cast Ultima again.

Belthazor lifted off the ground and spread his wings upwards. Bolts of red light came off them and fired off into the air, and then slammed down onto everyone, injuring them. 

_:That's his  Tetra Master attack,: _sent Parvati. _:It's not magic so that's why Piper's Reflect spell didn't stop it.:_

Two pillars rose up beside Belthazor. They seemed to be made of rotating stone sections linked together. Sections of the pillars rotated several times, then a bolt of energy arced from the left one and struck the right one, sending a bolt of energy down onto Belthazor, who seemed revitalized.

"They healed him!" exclaimed Phoebe angrily. "I'll destroy them!"

_:Don't bother,: _sent Auron. _:Those Yu Pagodas are invincible.:_

Auron then slashed at Belthazor with his sword. "Good one, Auron" said Piper, but couldn't you have done more damage?"

"Do you want me to? This is your fight, after all".

"It's yours too. Wasn't Cole your brother? Don't you hate to see him like this?"

Auron said nothing, but took a swig of the liquid in the flask he always carried on his belt. He raised his sword and spat the liquid onto it. Three black rings appeared around the blade, and he moved to strike Belthazor. Although the sword did not touch Belthazor, the light came off it and struck him, injuring him and causing a black cloud to appear in front of him. Cole then cast a blast of yellow light at Auron, but he was quick enough to dodge and he caught the blast on his magical sword, which negated the spell. Parvati, Paige and Phoebe then cast Ultima at him, while Piper drew in energy and cast a huge fireball at him. Paige then summoned Yojimbo, and stuffed some gold into his hands. He reached inside his cloak and pulled out his three daggers, or _kozuka_, and threw them at Belthazor, who was powering up a ball of black light. He cast it at Yojimbo, and when the light disappeared, Yojimbo was also gone. 

_:That took a lot of his energy,: _sent Parvati. _:He won't be doing it again, I wouldn't say.:_

Paige then summoned Bahamut, who used his impulse attack. Belthazor roared in pain when the four balls hit him, and cast a fireball at him. However Bahamut had already ducked to prepare his Mega Flare attack. The wheel lifted off his back and the stream of light covered Belthazor completely. After the light had gone, Belthazor ran forward and repeatedly slashed Bahamut with his claws, destroying him.

_:He's pretty weak now,: _sent Parvati. _:One more powerful attack should finish him off.:_

Paige summoned Valefor, who flew up in the air, sending a beam of light from her beak across Belthazor. A line of fire followed the line and damaged him a lot. He seemed to shake, and then he exploded in a massive blast of light. Cole was there, and he was lying on the ground. 

"I'm sorry, Phoebe, for doing this to you" he said. "Will you forgive me?"

 "No" said Phoebe, her voice full of anger. But when she looked at his weakened form again and saw what they had done, her heart softened. After all, here was the man she had married willingly, believing that he loved her. And did he? 'Well', she thought, 'something must have stopped him from becoming totally evil for so long. Was it his love for me?'

"Well…this is the end" said Cole. "You have finally freed me from this…imprisonment. Paige, you must call the Fayths now".

"Why?"

"They will help you fight Yu Yevon. Trust me on this".

"Yu Yevon poisons Aeons and turns them evil" said Paige. "If I summon an Aeon, won't Yu Yevon poison it and use it against me?"

"Yes, but it will use the one you summoned to fight you. You can then summon another Aeon and the two will duel. If you don't then Yu Yevon will extract your summoning powers and summon all of your Aeons at once against you".

"I don't trust you" said Paige. "You could still be evil and you could be tricking us" 

"Yu Yevon's evil power left me when you defeated me. I have no evil left in me".

"He's telling the truth" said Leo. "We must trust him"

Pyreflies came off Cole, and their eyes followed them upwards. They now noticed that a large black ball had been circling above them ever since they had defeated Cole. It now floated down in front of them, and changed form. It became a black woman with short, curly hair wearing a red dress.

"Seer!" exclaimed Phoebe.

_:You know her!?: _sent Parvati.

_:Yes, we do,: _replied Phoebe. _:She's the Seer for the Source. She sees the future for him and advises him on how to rule.:_

"Oh, I'm much more than just that, Phoebe" said the Seer. "I am Yu Yevon, poisoner of Aeons. Soon I will defeat my counterpart, Yevon, and then I will rule supreme. And not even you will be able to stop me!"

"Oh, we will" said Phoebe. "You destroyed my happy marriage to Cole. You caused him to become evil and attack us. You really think I will let you live for that?"

"You have no chance against me, Phoebe" said Yu Yevon. "You killed my daughter Yunalesca, but she was but a mere shadow of my ultimate power. No-one so far has been able to defeat me, so you won't either"

"Just you wait" said Paige. "Nothing is stronger than the Power of Three"

"Oh, that's what you think. Let me give you a demonstration of the ultimate power of Yu Yevon!" 

With that, she withdrew to between the two Yu Pagodas. Paige raised her arms and summoned the Magus Sisters. As soon as they had appeared, Yu Yevon raised her arms and a dark bluish-purple light went into each of the Sisters. They started to glow blue, and they stepped back in front of Yu Yevon, facing Paige. Parvati cast Ultima on the now-Dark Magus Sisters, while Paige proceeded to summon Anima. Anima opened her mouth and blasted all three of the Sisters, and she then proceeded to use her Oblivion attack. Frozen in time, the Sisters were repeatedly struck by Anima's fists and then slammed back down onto the ground. Parvati, Paige and Phoebe each cast an Ultima spell on one of the Sisters, killing them and causing Yu Yevon to poison Anima. Paige then summoned Yojimbo and paid him all the gold that she had. He then raised two burning fingers, and the sword flew out of the ground. Yojimbo caught it and sliced Dark Anima in half. He then stepped back just as Yu Yevon poisoned him, causing him to draw the three daggers from inside his robe and throw them at Paige. Leo healed her while she continued to summon Bahamut. Dark Yojimbo drew his sword and blasted Bahamut, who used his impulse attack. Dark Yojimbo drew his sword again and blew him back.

_:Paige, get him to use Mega Flare,: _sent Parvati. _:Piper, Phoebe, get ready to cast Ultima as soon as Bahamut attacks. This guy could finish us off in one go, so be careful.:_

As Bahamut's Mega Flare engulfed Dark Yojimbo, Piper, Phoebe and Parvati all cast Ultima at him. When the light cleared, Dark Yojimbo was gone, and Bahamut had turned blue and was approaching Yu Yevon. Parvati quickly raised her arms and cast Reflect on all of them but Leo, who stood slightly behind them and to the side. Auron slashed at Bahamut, doing a lot of damage but not killing him. Dark Bahamut then used his Mega Flare attack, however it bounced off them and hit him. Phoebe then used the Spectral Flash attack that Parvati had taught her. Seven columns of light surrounded Dark Bahamut, and they then all fell inward and caused a huge explosion of light. This was enough to destroy him, so Paige summoned Shiva. As soon as she appeared, Shiva was poisoned with Yu Yevon's power and started to glow blue. Paige then summoned Ifrit, who created a meteor and then punched it at Dark Shiva. It exploded on contact, which caused her to drop a huge block of ice onto Ifrit. Ifrit cast a fire spell at her, and she then surrounded Ifrit with ice, and shattered it with a snap of her fingers. Ifrit, severely weakened, then flew upwards and dropped a rock onto Shiva, destroying her. Yu Yevon then poisoned Ifrit and Phoebe used her Spectral Flash on him. He didn't seem to take much damage from it.

_:That should have killed him,: _sent Phoebe.

_:Yu Yevon heals the Aeons when it poisons them,: _sent Parvati. _:It also powers them up. Let's all cast Ultima, together.:_

All of them except Auron cast Ultima at Dark Ifrit, and Auron slashed him with his sword. Dark Ifrit cast a fireball at them, which damaged them as the Reflect spell had worn off. Leo quickly healed them while Paige summoned Ixion, who cast a powerful thunder spell at Dark Ifrit, killing him. Yu Yevon proceeded to poison Ixion, and Paige immediately summoned Valefor while Piper threw a fireball at him. Valefor blasted Dark Ixion with her wings, and he retaliated by slashing her with his horn. He then followed up by blasting her with two bolts of lightning from his eyes. Valefor cast her ray across Ixion and the fire followed it, damaging him. However this wasn't enough to kill him. Valefor flew upwards and formed a circle in mid-air. A semi-spherical shape appeared on Valefor's side of the circle and bolts of white light came from the circle and struck Dark Ixion, killing him. The blue light of Yu Yevon's poison then possessed Valefor and she flew back in front of Yu Yevon. Parvati and Piper cast fireballs at it, while Paige cast Ultima. Phoebe used her Spectral Flash on Valefor, dealing lethal damage to the Aeon. 

All of them now concentrated their attacks at Yu Yevon. All three Charmed Ones and Parvati cast Ultima at it and Auron sliced it multiple times with his sword.

_:Although I told you I could not engage directly in battle,: _sent Leo, _:The Elders want Sin dead as much as all of you. I have been permitted one attack on Yu Yevon with my Whitelighter powers.:_

The area darkened, and a large orange moon appeared. A blue wolf appeared at the top of a huge owl statue and howled at the moon. The statue rose up, and its closed fist came up under Yu Yevon, lifting it into the air. The statue then disappeared and Yu Yevon hit the ground, hard.

_:That was Fenrir,: _sent Leo._ :An Eidolon.:_

Paige, Piper and Phoebe all cast Ultima at Yu Yevon, while Parvati attempted to silence it. The spell failed and Yu Yevon blasted Parvati in retaliation.

"I'm okay" said Parvati as she got to her feet.

Auron then drank some more of his sake from his flask, and then spat it onto his sword to use his Banishing Blade attack, which seriously damaged Yu Yevon. 

Paige then summoned fire onto her rapier and ran Yu Yevon through with it. It cringed, and retaliated by sending a fireball at Paige, but she dodged it. Piper, Phoebe, Parvati and Paige cast Ultima at Yu Yevon, while Auron snuck around behind it and used his Banishing Blade attack.

"This is only a mere shadow of my ultimate power" said Yu Yevon. "Prepare to SUFFER!!"

Yu Yevon drew in energy from the surroundings and then released it, blasting them all back and severely injuring them, extreme concussion at the least, but most likely killing them.

Leo then orbed back, and he held up his arms. The majestic golden Phoenix appeared, blasting Yu Yevon with a huge blast of fire. Then it revived everyone else,

who stood up again, ready to fight. All of them except Phoebe and Auron cast Ultima, Phoebe casting Spectral Flash and Auron Banishing Blade. Piper cast a huge bolt of lightning at Yu Yevon, and Parvati cast a huge fireball at it. 

_:It's nearly defeated,: _sent Parvati. _:Just keep going, guys.:_

Paige raised her hands and cried "Incantus, fulchur, ultemica!!" at the top of her voice. A shockwave came out of Yu Yevon, and then the two Yu Pagodas slammed together, sandwiching Yu Yevon in the middle. They then rose up into the air and slowly disintegrated, until there was nothing left of the evil creature at all.


	10. Victory!

**Chapter 10**

"We did it!" exclaimed Paige.

"Yes!" said Phoebe.

"Let's get out of here" said Auron.

"How?" asked Piper. "The mouth shut just after we went in".

"And we can't orb out of Sin" said Leo. "We need to find another way out"

"The Power of Three!" said Paige. "There is nothing stronger. Piper, Phoebe, come here".

They linked hands and chanted "The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free, The Power of Three will set us free!"

A light appeared up high, and they saw the ceiling of the monster's body disintegrate. Through the rapidly enlarging hole they could see blue sky.

"Phoebe, why don't you levitate up and see if that's the exit?" asked Paige.

She levitated up to the ceiling and called down "It's the way out, all right"

Phoebe levitated further and finally left the monster's body. As she looked around, Paige orbed in beside her.

"Paige! I thought you couldn't orb out of Sin?"

"So did I. We must have destroyed his orbing protection shield with the Power of Three spell"

At that moment, Leo orbed in beside them, along with Piper, Parvati and Auron. "Let's go" said Auron

       "Yeah!" said Piper. "There'll be a big celebration!"

       Due to the enormous size of Sin, the top of his body was level to the top of the chasm. They walked over the Calm Lands and came to the small building again.

"You did it!" exclaimed Maechen. "I knew you could!"

"You guys were magnificent!" said Edea.

     At that moment there was a loud BANG, as the carcass of Sin exploded, giving out a bright light, illuminating the twilight sky.

     "We've got visitors" said Kinoc.

     A man with red hair and dressed in yellow was approaching, with a woman in a black dress with black hair held up in a bun.

"My parents!" said Parvati. "Let's go meet them"

They ran over to the couple and Parvati said "Hi Mum, hi Dad".

"Hey Parvati" said the redhead. "How you been doin', ya?"

"Good. I guarded Summoner Paige on her pilgrimage, like you said, Mum, and we defeated Sin once and for all".

"You've obviously mastered your powers very well" said the woman.

"You gonna introduce us to your friends, ya?"

"Oh, sorry. This is High Summoner Paige, and her guardians, Piper, Phoebe and Leo. Sir Auron also guarded her".

"Auron's here?" asked the woman.

"Yes. Paige, Piper, Phoebe, Leo, these are my parents. This is Wakka, and this is Lulu".

"What are you doing here?" asked Auron, coming over to them.

"Yuna wanted to see the final defeat of Sin, so we came with her" explained Lulu.

At that moment they saw three people approaching. One was a Ronso, the second was a blonde woman dressed in very skimpy clothing and the third was a brunette in a white top and a blue dress.

Parvati ran up to them and said "Hi guys! How have you been?"

"Never better" said the blonde woman.

"These are my friends" said Parvati. "This is High Summoner Paige and her guardians, Piper, Phoebe and Leo.

"This is Kimahri" said Parvati, pointing at the Ronso. "This is Rikku" she said, pointing to the blonde woman, "and this is High Summoner Yuna".

"Pleased to meet you Lady Paige" said Yuna.

"Oh, just call me Paige, Lady Yuna".

"Just Yuna will do fine".

"Ok" said Paige.

Around the campfire that night they told their stories. Paige told them of her pilgrimage, and the final defeat of Sin. 

"How did you get him down into the chasm?" asked Yuna.

"Edea took care of it for us" said Phoebe.

"Edea?" said Yuna. "Who's Edea?"

"Oh, sorry" said Paige. "Yuna, this is Sorceress Edea. Edea, this is High Summoner Yuna and her guardians Kimahri, Rikku, Lulu and Wakka".

"So this is the legendary High Summoner Yuna" said Edea.

"I'd hardly say legendary" said Yuna.

"But you are, Yunie, you are!" said Rikku.

"You finished the job for me, Paige" said Yuna. "I'm sorry to have sent Sin to your world when I defeated it. You killed it for good and for that I thank you"

"How come the machina brought down Sin?" asked Wakka. "Last time it just destroyed them, ya?"

"Because" said Edea, "this time I was there. I summoned the legendary Guardian Force Odin which brought him down, so High Summoner Paige could go inside and destroy the monster for good".

"So Sin won't come back anywhere?" asked Rikku.

"No" said Maechen. "Yevon's teachings state that when Yu Yevon is defeated twice then he is gone".

"So who is this Yu Yevon?" asked Edea. "I hear you people talk about Yevon and Yu Yevon but I am never sure if they are two different things or just different names for the same thing"

"Yevon was a summoner who lived in Zanarkand a thousand years ago" said Maechen. "When Bevelle's army attacked the city he summoned a creature to defend the city, but an evil side of him caused the creature to be uncontrollable. It became known as Sin, and it destroyed Zanarkand. Yevon turned all the survivors of Sin's attack into Fayths in order to summon a dream of the city. Yevon got powerful from doing that, and his evil side split and became known as Yu Yevon. Yu Yevon used Sin as its armour and continued to destroy until Lady Yunalesca, Yevon's daughter, defeated Sin along with her husband Lord Zaon. But seeing that Sin was her father, or part of her father, she decided not to destroy it completely, so Yu Yevon possessed Zaon, Yunalesca's Final Aeon, and made him Sin".

"Yunalesca never told the summoners that the Final Aeon becomes Sin" said Auron. "The only two she told were Yuna and Paige".

"So even Lord Braska didn't know, ya?" asked Wakka.

"No. Yunalesca never mentioned it to him when we were there".

"How many summoners have you guarded?" asked Edea.

"Three" said Auron. "Lord Braska, Lady Yuna and Lady Paige. You want me to tell you about them?"

"Why not?" said Edea.

"I was originally a warrior monk in the Palace of St Bevelle. However, it was arranged that I marry the High Priest's daughter. I didn't want to, so I told the High Priest, and then I met a summoner, Braska, and offered my services to him as a guardian. Braska was forsaken by the temple, like myself, as he had wed an Al Bhed. We met a man named Jecht in the temple prison who said he was from Zanarkand. Braska told Jecht that he was leaving on a pilgrimage to Zanarkand, and that he thought there might be a way to return Jecht to his own time. Jecht accepted and Braska made him his guardian as well.

"Jecht and I never got on well at first. He was always drinking and he got angry easily. However one night he attacked a shoopuf, a creature used for transportation in Spira. He swore never to drink again.

"When we reached Zanarkand, both Jecht and I tried to persuade Braska to turn back, but he refused. When Yunalesca asked Braska who the Fayth for the Final Aeon would be, Jecht said that he would become the Fayth. He explained that his dream was back in the other Zanarkand, with his wife and son. I had said that there must be a way back to ancient Zanarkand, so Jecht asked me to go back there and look after his wife and son. I agreed. Braska had also asked me to take his daughter Yuna to Besaid village. But when Yunalesca told me that Sin was a never-ending cycle, then I attacked her, and she killed me. My duty to Jecht and Braska kept me from the Farplane, so I continued on as an unsent. I left Yuna in the care of Kimahri and sought to fulfill the promise I had made to Jecht. I got sucked in by Sin and transported to ancient Zanarkand, where I met Jecht's son Tidus. His mother had recently died of a broken heart, as she believed, like Tidus, that Jecht had died at sea during blitzball training. When Zanarkand was attacked by Sin then Tidus was sucked in and transported to Spira, where he met Yuna and her guardians – Wakka, Lulu and Kimahri. They set out to Zanarkand, joined later by myself and Rikku. By killing the evil Maester Seymour, we earned the wrath of the Yevon church who called us traitors. We defeated Yunalesca when Yuna learned the truth of the Final Summoning, and we used Rikku's father's airship to enter Sin and destroy both Jecht and Yu Yevon – for good, we thought".

"Yuna, what happened to Tidus?" asked Phoebe. "I don't see him with you".

"Tidus, ah…" A tear formed in Yuna's eye, but she quickly brushed it away. "He was just a dream, a dream of the Fayth. And I loved him, too, and I was devastated when he disappeared when Sin and the Fayths vanished".

"I'm so sorry" said Paige. "It must have been hard, losing him like that".

"Yes, it was. I don't really want to talk about it".

"So, Sin's finally gone now" said Piper. "He's the most powerful demonic creature we've ever destroyed"

"I've seen worse" said Edea. "Sorceress Ultimecia"

"Who's she?" asked Phoebe.

"A Sorceress from the future" said Edea. "She could reach across time and possess other Sorceresses. I was possessed, and so was a friend of mine, Sorceress Rinoa. Ultimecia actually compressed time in the world where I'm from, causing past, present and future to become one, and trapping everyone in time itself. I only survived because of some friends of mine who I had raised from children in my orphanage entered Ultimecia's castle and destroyed her once and for all" 

They continued to tell stories into the night, and they all went to bed very late. They slept in the next morning and when they left, the Al Bhed had removed the machina and disappeared.

"Maybe we'll meet again someday" said Parvati. "I have enjoyed traveling with you"

"So have we" said Paige.

"Where's Auron?" asked Piper. "I wanted to say goodbye to him as well"

"Ah, he departed to the Farplane last night" said Leo. "He asked me to say goodbye to you for him"

They walked up to the four Maesters and Edea. "Well, I guess this is it" said Maester Yuma.

"Yes" said Paige. "We've enjoyed working with you"

"Thank you very much, Lady Paige, and have a safe journey home"

They set off back to San Francisco, and found what they had hoped for – the manor to have survived Sin's attack. Many areas of the city had destroyed and were being rebuilt, but P3, Piper's nightclub, and the Bay Mirror newspaper where Phoebe worked had survived as well, so they were both able to go back to work.

The three of them and Leo resumed their normal lives, now much quieter as there were no more demon attacks, due to the defeat of the Source/Sin. But they hoped that one day they would be able to meet up again with those whom they had shared their adventure with.


End file.
